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California Fish & Game Warden

ExposeExposeExposeExposeExpose’

Exposing discriminatory practices againstCalifornia’s Fish and Game Wardens

March 2006

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Published by theCalifornia Fish & GameWardens Association (CFGWA)

Joe Mello

Bob Orange

Nicole Kozicki

Gary Combes

Jerry Karnow

OfficersPresident - Joe Mello – JRMDFG@worldnet.att.netVice President - Bob Orange - boborange@frontiernet.netSecretary - Nicole Kozicki – nkozicki@comcast.netTreasurer - Gary CombesLegislative Liaison - Jerry Karnow – jkarnow@saber.net

OFFICERS

BOARD OFDIRECTORS

Jake Bushey, Sr.

Ben Thompson

Bob Farrell

Rick Coelho

Board Members:Redding, Jake BusheySacramento, Bob OrangeRiverside, Rick CoelhoSan Diego, Ben ThompsonMonterey, Bob Farrell

To Governor Schwarzenegger and the California Legislature:

We are relaying a message from California’s great silent majority: thosewho cannot speak for themselves for they have no voice to cry out. Thismajority cannot speak for themselves as they use no words. They cannoteven acknowledge efforts made on their behalf. They are the wildlife,fish, plants and other natural resources of this state. There are morethreatened and endangered species today than ever before.

Fish & Game Wardens, empowered by the law, protect the state’s naturalresources. We know ourselves as the Thin Green Line. Yet, as critical arole as we have, wardens themselves have become a vanishing force,marginalized by political whims, undermined by falsehoods, andvictimized by economic pressure. As Warden numbers diminish, so do thewildlife, fisheries, and environment in California.

Wardens are true conservationists, those who promote the wise use ofresources. Not only do we preserve and promote traditional Americanoutdoor values, we keep watch over those using the resources. Weprotect people from dangers that can be encountered in the wild,lending aid where otherwise none would exist, halting crime whereotherwise it would go unchecked. Pollution, poaching, over-fishing, lossof habitat, poorly planned developments and illegal stream alterationsplay significant roles in degrading the quality of California’s naturalenvironment. Our ever vigilant and increasing role in Homeland Securityhas been unrecognized as well.

Our job is exceedingly difficult, and if the present trend continues,downright impossible. Please take the time to read the followingdocumentation and unabridged media reports: learn who we are, whatwe represent, and what we hope to accomplish. Peer into whatCalifornia’s future may be if we stay the present course. It is a sadconsequence.

Remember the great bear on our state flag, the California Grizzly thatbecame extinct because of our indifference? The Wardens are headeddown the same path because of the same reason. This trend must bereversed and more Wardens are required in this state if we want tocontinue to protect our precious natural heritage. Please speak out, jointhe Thin Green Line, and support the 200 men and women entrustedto conserving California’s silent majority. It is the moral and ethical thingto do.

Sincerely,Bob Orange

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California Fish and Game Wardens

Protecting California’s natural resources and serving California residents since 1871

California Fish and Game Wardens

Game

Warden facts:

14 Game Wardens have died in the line of duty since 1913

Game Warden numbers the same as in 1950s- a force of only about 200 out on patrol

Game Warden work is dangerous - every angler, hunter and commercial fisherman is armed

Wardens patrol over 1,700 square miles, combining 850 square miles of land and 840 square miles of ocean waters, routinely without back up

Federal statistics show per capita, Game Wardens and DEA agents have the highest risk of death on the job

Game Wardens must have two years of college to apply

Wardens routinely arrest armed convicted felons and shut down dangerous marijuana plantations and meth labs

Game Warden involved shootings have increased, and nearly 57 percent of those killed in the line of duty were killed by gunfire

Fish and Game Wardens are sworn law enforcement officers. They primarily protect California’s fish, wildlife and habitat from criminal behavior including: poaching, pollution, and wanton destruction of natural lands, but provide public safety, homeland security, and disaster response to all Californians.

Fish and Game arrests often include drug confiscation and the seizure of weapons.

Recruitment efforts suffer as Fish and Game Wardens receive only 60 percent of the pay and benefits offered to California Highway Patrol. The disparity is greater in comparison to local law enforcement.

Unlike most law enforcement, Fish and Game Warden applicants must have a minimum of two years of college education due to the technical diversity of the job. Many Wardens hold Bachelor degrees and several have Masters.

Fewer Fish and Game Wardens has resulted in higher case loads and slower response or no response to public calls for service. Active patrols have decreased. With the increase in people living in California, calls for service have also increased while the Fish and Game Warden ranks have decreased.

Fish and Game Wardens face additional dangers in the field including patrolling alone in remote locations with limited backup, regular exposure to poison oak, rattlesnakes, West Nile virus, hazardous materials (response and sampling), animal bites, and regularly armed suspects and citizenry.

Fish and Game Wardens annually rescue many hunters, anglers, accident victims, and locate missing or abducted persons. In rural and rugged areas, they are often the only law enforcement nearby.

Wardens initiate complex investigations, surveillances, and covert operations that put a stop to all types of criminal activity, in addition to poaching.

Fish and Game Wardens are issued specialized weaponry and training in those weapons: high-capacity handguns, shotgun and military rifles.

Fish and Game Wardens serve as representatives for local government task forces and intelligence networks involving multiple law enforcement agencies, such as CAMP.

Wardens are now in great need of public support and underststanding to continue to safely and effectively protect Californians and their natural resources.

The Thin Green Line

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Game Warden Kyle Kroll$48,000 gross pay for year 2005

(no raise promised for 2006)

26 years old, employed 4 yearsSworn state peace officerPatrol area: Bay AreaJurisdiction: the highways plus allphysical landscape of Californiaincluding the ocean2 years of college requiredWorks alone most of the timeNo increased night payNo holiday pay, no overtimeNo backup availableDispatch hundreds of miles awayIssued 4 firearms:● 40 caliber semi automatic pistol● 40 caliber semi auto undercover

pistol● 12 guage riot shotgun● 308 semi automatic military rifleDrives marked patrol rigMust maintain own patrol rig andmany have over 100,000 milesHomeland Security Monitoring:● the wildlands of the state

including the highways● incoming shipping, chemical

plants, refineries, dams, bridges,powerplants, transmission lines

200 fellow game wardens not likelyavailable for backupOperates long range ocean patrolcraft & routinely board vessels instate waters up to 200 miles at seain hazardous conditions and manyWardens are certified diversFederally DeputizedWardens are 3 X more likely thanCHP to be killed by gunfire

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CHP Officer Jake Bushey, Jr.

$92,000 gross pay for year 2005(+7.5% raise promised for 2006)

26 years old, employed 4 yearsSworn state peace officerPatrol area: Bay AreaJurisdiction: the highways of the state,state buildings & government property

High School Diploma or GED requiredWorks with a partner after 10pmIncrease in pay for night-time hours1.5 holiday pay, overtime availableBackup readily availableLocal dispatch that knows locationIssued 1 firearm and two shared● 40 caliber semi automatic side arm● 12 guage riot shotgun● .223 semi automatic rifle

Drives marked patrol rigVehicles are maintained by CHP mechanicson a regular basis and have low milesHomeland Security Monitoring:● highways of the state● state buildings and property

7,000 fellow CHP officers to call forbackupCHP does not have a boat or divers

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Sacramento PD $86,592Elk Grove PD $77,023Plus retirement & ss paid for by PD whichadds 10% take home plus $1,000 signingbonusRedding PD $61,392Los Angeles Airport Police $67,312Brentwood PD $73,812 Plus $10,000 signing bonus, plus $28,500 ifofficer purchases home within city limitsSimi Valley PD $69,216Plus $1,600 year uniform allowance

Santa Rosa PD $72,048Chino PD $67,056Sonoma County SO $82,929Contra Costa SO $74,928Plus $1,000 signing bonus

Redwood City PD $89,664Glendale PD $76,512Manteca PD $64,152Hemet PD $62,820Antioch PD $70,164Plus $2,000 hiring bonus

Newport Beach PD $71,386BART $79,224Half Moon Bay PD $75,984Pittsburgh PD $67,164Sacramento Co. SO $73,903Folsom PD $74,998

California Highway Patrol $65,412Plus overtime and incentives whichtypically add an additional $20,000per year . . . . expected income $85,000

California Game Warden $53,184Minimal or no overtime

Rank

and

File

Peace

OfficersAGENCY

Top Pay Range PerYear

All agencies (except Dept. ofFish and Game) have regular

overtime plus incentives.As of April 2005

Even though theCaliforniapopulation hasgreatly increased,the Game Wardenforce has actuallydecreased.

In 1950, there wasone Warden for every54,845 persons in CA

In 2005, there wasone Warden for every180,488 persons inCA

Game Wardens do not receive overtime pay for working holidays.CHP is paid 1/2 hour overtime everyday (8 1/2 hour day).Physical Performance Pay (PPP) Compensation for physical requirements of job.

Statistics show Warden numbers have dropped roughly a thirdin the last six years.

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CHP Cadet: $3268-$4108 /moBeginning Pay : $53,808 per yearCHP Officer Top Pay: $65,412 per yearCHP Pilot Beginning Pay: $62,844 per yearCHP Pilot Top Pay: $76,380 per year

CHP Incentives:Physical Performance Pay

$130 month ($1,560 per year)Paid Lunch (8 hour day):

9.375% of every pay period ($5,807.25 per year)Annual Overtime:

Average of at least $10,000 per year

Education Incentive:2.5 percent base pay per month, or no less than $120,for officers with an Intermediate POST Certificate orAssociate of Arts Degree5 percent base pay per month, or no less than $240,for officers with an advanced POST Certificate or aBachelor of Arts Degree

Investigator Pay: $50 per monthMotorcycle Pay:

4% of base pay or no less than $175/mo..Senior Officer Pay (Longevity):

18 years- 2%19 years- 3%20 years- 4%21 years- 5%22 years- 6%25 years- 8%

Shift Differential:Swing Shift- $.40/hour per shift, ave. $850 annually.Night Shift- $.65/hour per shift, ave. $1,400 annually.

Vacation Time Accural:7 months to 3 years 15 hours per month3-10 years 18 hours per month10-15 years 20 hours per month15-20 years 21 hours per month20+ years 22 hours per month

Call Out Pay:4 hour minimumTelephone Call Pay: $10 per callMinimum Court Cancellation Pay: $100

The average CHP officer makes at least 65% more pay than their counterpart Game Warden.

Fish & Game Warden Cadet: $2822- $3,360/moBeginning Pay: $37,128 per yearGame Warden Top Pay: $53,184 per yearWarden Pilot Beginning Pay: $58,296 per yearWarden Pilot Top Pay: $70,092 per year

Warden Incentives:Recruitment and Retention Pay: $175/moLongevity Pay:

17 years service- 1%19 years service- 2%20 years service- 3%21 years service- 4%22 years service- 5%25 years service- 7%

Education Incentive:Two years of college (60 semester units required ascondition of employment).Bachelors Degree or Advanced POST Certificate- $100per month

Geographic Recruitment and Retention:Employee headquartered and residing in one of the 17designated high cost counties receive a monthlydifferential from $220 or $300.

WARDEN PAYAND INCENTIVES

CHP PAYAND INCENTIVES

Vacation Time Accural7 months to 10 years 8 hours a month11 to 14 years 12 hours a month15 to 19 years 13 hours a month20 + year 14 hours a month

Retirement ContributionsWarden pays 8% in excess of $238 toward retirement

Retirement ContributionsCHP officer pays 1.5% in excess of $863 toward retirement

Result: CHP officer take home pay is increased by approx. $350 more a month than the Warden by the retirementcontribution formula alone. This is a result of the state’s higher contribution to a CHP officers retirement. Thisresults in an additional $4,200 a year which is not represented on any graphs or charts in this report.

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Table of ContentsMessage from the California Fish and Game Warden Association – Vice President Bob Orange ............................................... 2California Fish and Game Warden Fact Sheet ................................................................................................................. 3A Tale of Two Officers – A salary comparison between a Fish and Game Warden and CHP officer ................................ 4Salary Comparison for CA Rank and File Police Officers, CHP, and Fish and Game Wardens ....................................... 6Graph of Game Warden vs CHP salary, Game Warden historical numbers ..................................................................... 6Warden Pay and Incentives vs CHP Pay and Incentives ................................................................................................ 7California’s Game Wardens – The Law of the Land – What Game Wardens Really Do .................................................... 9Fish and Game Warden Pilots ....................................................................................................................................... 16Game Wardens qualify for Social Services ................................................................................................................... 17Letter from the Field – by Warden Jerry Karnow .............................................................................................................................. 182000 Memorandum to DPA from the Resources Agency– Regarding salary inequities for Game Wardens & Park Rangers .......................... 202001 Letter from members of the Senate and Assembly – Instructing the DPA to give salary parity to Game Wardens ............................... 212006 Letter from Department of Personnel Administration to Alan Barcolona, President of CAUSE & Gary Meeting ..................................... 242001 Letter to Director Hight – from Jon R. Willcox, Game Warden .......................................................................................................... 25A Final Note – What needs to happen? From the California Fish and Game Warden Association ........................................................... 26

A Historical Collection of Newspaper and Magazine Articles - used by permissionEl Dorado County could lose Game Wardens over salary dispute – Mountain Democrat, Candace Crane ......................................................................... 28Alarming Answers to DFG Survey – SF Examiner, Tom Stienstra ..................................................................................................................................... 30State Unable to Recruit Enough Game Wardens – SF Examiner, Tom Stienstra ....................................................................................................... 31Game Warden Shortage Nearing Critical Stage – SF Examiner, Tom Stienstra ......................................................................................................... 32Sink to New Depths – Be a Game Warden .................................................................................................................... 33Stagnant Pay, Tough Workload Thin Ranks of Game Wardens – LA Times, Maria L. LaGanga ......................................................... 34Fish and Game Wardens Seek Pubic Support in Salary Negotiations – Press Release from CFGWA ......................................... 36Wardens Loosing War Against Low Pay, Long Hours –- SF Examiner, Tom Stienstra ............................................................................................ 38Wardens On Patrol – Sign on San Diego, Kristen Green .................................................................................................................................... 39Fish and Game Wardens Take on Terrorist Duties – The KCRA Channel ................................................................................................. 40They Love the Job, Not the Pay – Sign on San Diego, Ed Zieralski .............................................................................................................. 41Coyotes in CA .............................................................................................................................................................. 43Thin Green Line, Recognizing and Appreciating Game Wardens – NRO, James Swan .................................................................... 44Fish and Game Cadets Train in Napa – Napa Valley Register, Louisa Hufstader ....................................................................................... 46A How-To Guide to Revamping the Woeful DFG – SF Examiner, Tom Stienstra ....................................................................................................... 48What Budget Cuts Mean to Parks, DFG – SF Examiner, Tom Stienstra ......................................................................................................................... 50Budget Cuts Will Damage DFG – SF Examiner, Tom Stienstra ............................................................................................................................................ 51Budget Cuts Forcing Massive Fish and Game Layoffs – The Ukiah Daily Journal, Peijean TSA ........................................................ 52Bizarre Practices of Bear Farming – ABC 7 .................................................................................................................. 54Poachers showing off bear gall bladder ......................................................................................................................... 55NVC Looses Academy for Game Wardens – Napa Valley Register, Gabe Friedman ................................................................................ 56150 DFG Workers Won’t Be Laid Off – SF Examiner, Tom Stienstra ................................................................................................................................ 57Public Opinion Letters ................................................................................................................................................... 58The Politics of Fish and Game – Napa Valley Register, George Carl ............................................................................................................ 59Far and Few Between – Sacramento Bee, Ed Fletcher ..................................................................................................................................... 60State Game Warden Number Expected to Dwindle – SF Examiner, Tom Stienstra .................................................................................................. 62Texas Should Note California’s Woes, More Wardens will lose their jobs . . The Houston Chronicle, Doug Pike ......................... 63Mountain Lions in CA .................................................................................................................................................... 64Statewide Realignment to Spread Out Game Warden Thinning Ranks - Associated Press ............................................................. 65A Longer Arm of the Law – SF Chronicle, Paul McHugh ................................................................................................................................. 66Attacks on National Law Enforcement Hit Another All Time High - PEER, Chris Offutt .................................................................... 68Game Warden Shot Near Mount Umunhum – The Mercury News, Ken McLaughlin, Brandon Bailey .............................................. 69Fading Hunt - The Realities of the 21st Century – ESPN, Angie Wagner ................................................................................................. 70DFG Officials Blamed–Too Few Officers – San Gabriel Valley Tribune .......................................................................................... 72Tiger shooting, 2 other cases get lawmakers, critics talking, Ventura County Star, Michelle L Klampe ............................................ 73Why Game Wardens Deserve Parity with CHP ............................................................................................................. 77Spaces of Waste - Down in the Dumps – Redding.com, Alex Breitler ......................................................................................................... 78Governor’s Remarks at World Environmental Day Conference...................................................................................... 80Governor Slashes Salmon and Steelhead Restoration Budget – The Fish Sniffer, Dan Bacher ........................................................ 82Schwarzenegger’s line-items cuts further weaken the DFG – Redding.com, Thom Gabrukiewicz ..................................................... 84Diversity is Strength, It’s also Poaching – DARE, Brenda Walker .............................................................................................................. 86Bears in CA .................................................................................................................................................................. 89Poaching Arrests Came as Surprise – TImes Press Recorder, Mark Baylis .............................................................................................. 90Bad News for Bad Guys Poster featuring state of the art Patrol Boats ......................................................................... 92Message from Fish and Game Warden Association ...................................................................................................... 93Fish and Game Warden Pilots vs CHP Pilots – A look at their salary & incentives ...................................................... 94

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California’s Game Wardens:the Law of the Land

California Game Wardens have been vested with atremendous responsibility. They stand at the core of lawenforcement authority for the state. Their jurisdiction andauthority encompass every inch of the 159,000 square miles ofland and nearly 220,000 square miles of ocean that fall underCalifornia’s law and regulation. Their authority not onlyincludes enforcing all local and state laws, but federal law aswell. As complicated and complex as Game Warden duties are,Game Wardens must also possess a tremendous amount ofunderstanding, education, and expertise. Game Wardens aremore than Calfornia’s core law enforcement, they are thestate’s premiere law enforcement officers.

Not just a job, it’s a way of life

California Game Wardens have statewide authority assworn peace officers, as defined in California Penal CodeSection 830.2, to enforce all state laws and are foremostentrusted to maintain public safety. Wardens make physicalarrests of criminals and take wanted persons into custody. Likeall peace officers, Wardens carry and use firearms. With suchbroad authority, Game Wardens provide backup to all otherlocal, state, and federal officers from all law enforcementagencies. The demands are arduous and the risks are high forGame Wardens on duty. They work alone any hour of the dayor night, weekends and holidays; patrol rural areas where thereis little or no other law enforcement presence; and patrol onfoot, by plane, by a variety of specialized boats, specializedundercover vehicles, or by marked emergency patrol vehiclesoutfitted with specialized surveillance equipment and firearms. Likeall law enforcement, Wardens investigate reports of violations,interview suspects and witnesses, seize evidence, write reports,collaborate with district attorneys, and testify in court. Unlike manylaw enforcement officials, they operate as their own crime sceneinvestigators, carefully reading the scenes for clues, tracks, hair,blood and other evidence that will help pinpoint a perpetrator.Appointed as law enforcement officers for more than 130 years,Wardens were the first state peace officers in California, who beganenforcing State laws more than 50 years before the CaliforniaHighway Patrol was even established.

California Fish and Game Wardens provide regular public safetyand homeland security protection for the people of California.According to Webster’s New World Dictionary, a Warden is “one whoguards, or has charge of, something.” In California, Game Wardenhas come to mean men and women of law enforcement whoseduties entail that of standard law enforcement and a great dealmore.

Game Wardens patrol all of California’s 159,000 square miles.Their territory encompasses a human population of 36 million andgrowing; habitat and wildlife diversity that is unequaled by anyother state; more than 1,100 miles of coastline; about 220,000square miles of ocean waters; 30,000 miles of rivers and streams;4,800 lakes and reservoirs; 80 major rivers; three of the four North

Marijuana eradication operation in coastal range.California Game Wardens and Santa Clara County Sheriffassisted by Air National Guard Blackhawk.

More than 450 abalone were found by Game Wardens hidden in thisfishing vessel near Ft Bragg. Abalone brings about $50 each on theblack market.

California’s Game Wardens:the Law of the Land

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American Desert Habitats; scores of high mountain peaks; and within the confinesof many cities and towns, big and small. Game Wardens are responsible forprotecting more than 1,000 native fish and wildlife species; more than 6,000 nativeplant species; and approximately 360 threatened or endangered species.

All California peace officers must meet the same standards for qualificationand training. Every peace officer, regardless of their primary duties or worklocation within the State of California, is sworn to uphold the laws of the State ofCalifornia. Further, every peace officer is expected to be able to perform all dutiesof a peace officer when circumstances dictate a need for enforcement action.Hiring agencies distinguish differences in duties, territories, and specialties amongpeace officers based upon jurisdictions. But Game Wardens, whose jurisdictionsare virtually boundless, must perform a myriad of complex responsibilities inaddition to the same general responsibilities that all other peace officers havewithin the state. Wardens may initiate enforcement action against any and allviolators of local, State, and federal laws which they encounter or are reported tothem in the course of their primary law enforcement duties. Wardens are alsoidentified as primary responders for off-highway petroleum and hazardousmaterial spills for the entire State from the borders to 200 miles into internationalocean waters.

This tremendous responsibility requires an equally tremendous amount ofunderstanding, education, and expertise. It also means that Game Wardens rarelyhave routine patrols.

Public Trust Doctrine:Not just a need, it’s the law

The people of California through the Legislature asserted the belief thatour natural resources have value into law. The Fish and Game Code repeatedlyunderscores the importance of the natural resources to Californians by declaringthat the state must maintain sufficient populations of all species of wildlife andthe habitat to:

● provide for the beneficial use and enjoyment of wildlife by all citizens of thestate

● perpetuate all species of wildlife for their intrinsic and ecological values, aswell as for their direct benefits to all

● provide for aesthetic, educational, and nonappropriative uses of variouswildlife species

● maintain diversified recreational uses of wildlife, including the sport ofhunting and fishing

● provide a quality outdoor experience● provide for economic contributions by recognizing that wildlife is a

renewable resource● alleviate economic losses or public health or safety problems caused by

wildlife to the people of the state either individually or collectively

The California State Legislature even declared certain species of fish, wildlife,and plants have been rendered extinct as a consequence of human activities, andthat other species are at risk from destruction, adverse modification, severecurtailment, excessive exploitation, disease, predation, or other factors.

The California Legislature declared California wildlife and plant species areof ecological, educational, historical, recreational, esthetic, economic, andscientific value to the people of California, and the conservation, protection, andenhancement of these species and their habitat is of statewide concern. TheLegislature gave the policy obligations to the Department of Fish and Game, andlaid all of the responsibilities to ensure that the laws to meet the above goals aremet upon the shoulders of the California Game Wardens.

Service of search warrants and arrestwarrants in San Francisco followingextensive investigation by DFG’s undercoverofficers (SOU).

“Millions of years ago when dinosaursinhabited this planet, extinctionoccurred at an average rate of perhapsone form every 1,000 years. From thetime of Christ to about 1800 A.D.,roughly one form of mammal wasexterminated every 55 years. Over thelast 300 years, man has beenresponsible, either directly or indirectly,for the destruction of more than 200forms of birds and mammals, and in thelast 200 years, he has exterminated10,000 species of insects and snails. Inthe United States alone, no less than 40birds and mammals have become extinctsince 1820, 18 of them in the 20thcentury alone….The fate of these animalforms has been sealed forever. They areextinct and man and nature areincapable of resurrecting them.Hundreds of other species may sharethe same fate if man continues in hisdestructive ways.”

“Wildlife Protection Efforts,”1 Ecology Law Quarterly: 521-2 (1971).

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Game Wardens discovered a creek diversion, evidence ofpoached deer, quail and other birds and more than 8,000 potplants in this Siskiyou County raid.

Other duties and more

While many other law enforcement agenciesdepartmentalize specialties like undercover work, covertoperations, and drug enforcement, field Wardens do it all. Theymanage confidential informants, maintain secret-witness(CalTIP) operations, act as lead investigators in overt andcovert operations, serve as regional intelligence officers andmaintain intelligence files, write and serve search warrants,conduct crime scene investigations, and process evidencecollections. They participate in drug raids of pot farms whichusually include environmental crimes as well as illicit drugcrimes.

From complicated commercialization of fish and wildlifecrimes, to intricate environmental crime investigations, GameWardens must apprehend violators and compile comprehensivecase reports to present to district attorneys for prosecution. Trails of evidencemay require securing tax documents, water samples, oil orchemical samples, specialty license records, and more. They mayalso be called upon to draft solid environmental documentsthat regulate agriculture, timber harvest or developmentactivity in and around streams to protect the waters fromdestruction and degradation. These documents must beenforceable, clear, and complete.

Terrestrial wardens help monitor wildlife populations forreasonable regulation changes that may effect wildlifepopulations, and inspect businesses selling fish products andcompliance with associated permits. Marine wardens board andinspect fishing vessels on the open ocean.

In marine pollution incidents, Game Wardens assume therole of on scene Incident Commander, jointly supervisingresponse operations with the U.S. Coast Guard to ensure thestate’s interests and resources are protected.

Authority beyond just state law

Game Warden authority extends beyond the laws of thestate. Every Game Warden in California is specially appointed as aUnited States law enforcement officer under an agreement withthe Department of the Interior, U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service.Wardens are authorized to enforce federal fish and wildlife laws inCalifornia and, by agreement, in states immediately adjacent toCalifornia. California Wardens participate in the Wildlife ViolatorCompact in agreement with 20 member states. Game Wardenshave also been deemed, especially in other states, to be one ofthe most appropriate agents to call upon for homeland securitybecause of their advanced and specialized weapons, specializedsurveillance equipment, and training. Game Wardens patrol withfour firearms, including two, high-capacity, .40 caliber Glock semi-auto pistols, a shotgun, and the .308 caliber, military issue, M-14or M1-A, semi-automatic rifle. Game Wardens continually trainwith these weapons throughout the year, every year. GameWardens train to proficiency in use of GPS, topographical andother maps, surveillance cameras, radio frequency scanners, videocameras, digital cameras, high-powered optics, third generationnight vision optics, computer technology, and various all-terrainvehicles.

Evidence seized during search warrant. Suspects used deer theyillegally killed to illegally bait bear. DNA analysis matched baitwith deer tissue samples found in suspect’s freezer. Suspectsconvicted of conspiracy.

Bullet recovered from head of poached deer used to matchsuspect’s rifle seized during search warrant.

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Serving public safety beyond just crimes

Increasingly, Game Wardens intercede between the public andwildlife as clashes between humans and mountain lions, bear, andcoyotes continue to rise. They investigate reports of wild animalattacks upon humans, schedule community alert projects, track andcapture offending predators, use crime scene investigation tactics ofevidence collection, and follow up DNA analysis to determine thecapture of the correct offending animal. Where and only whennecessary, Game Wardens are prepared to take wildlife for the publicsafety.

Game Warden’s expanded knowledge of specific geographic areaswithin California makes their expertise valuable to emergency/disasterresponse planning agencies. Their skills, knowledge, and issuedspecialized equipment help with flood control and disaster response;wildland fire initial reconnaissance, evacuations, and disaster planning;rescues; and arrests for looting or other criminal behavior associatedwith disasters.

Game Wardens do not hold their knowledge, expertise andexperience as proprietary. They share by teaching POST certifiedclasses related to law enforcement and firearms to other Wardens andto law enforcement officers of all other agencies; hazardous materialsresponse for other agencies; and law enforcement and wildlifemanagement at junior colleges and at state universities.

Always on duty

Most Game Wardens work out of their home offices which usuallymake them the most accessible Fish and Game employee to acommunity, and are on call virtually 24/7. Game Wardens have longpracticed what today is being called “Community Oriented Policing.”The result is an officer who combines government service andcommunity presence in a good working relationship.

Increased demands mean increased qualifications

In response to the growing responsibilities and complexity of Game Wardenwork, educational requirements have become the most stringent of any otherstate, county, or city law enforcement position. Game Warden cadets must havetwo years of college with a major in biological sciences, law enforcement, naturalresources or a related field. And, most Wardens have college degrees in fish andwildlife management or related fields which allow them to work closely with otherwildlife professionals. Several hold Masters Degrees.

Unique hazards Game Wardens encounter

Game Warden territories and patrol areas come with unique hazards thatmost law enforcement counter parts do not face.

● Most citizen contacts and suspects armed with weapons● Numerous firearms - inspect and seize more guns than any other agency● Work alone – no partners● Uncontrolled environments with little or no backup● Routine dead zones in radio dispatch and cell-phone service● Long hours and night patrol when criminals are most active in the field● Hazardous material sampling for water pollution cases● High exposure to sunlight – skin cancer amongst wardens is common● Traverse uneven ground on foot through mud, water, rocks, mountains,

desert sands, cliffs, heavy vegetation● Difficulty in pinpointing location for backup (rural roads, no sign, no

markers)

Undercover warden views seized deer taken before thelegal season and guns used by spotlighters.

A Marine Warden checks a crab trap off the deck of thePatrol Boat Marlin.

We dedicate our effortsin memory of our

brethren who died in theline of duty:

Bert BlanchardWalter K. KrukowErnest Raynaud

Russell M. Bushey Jr.George J. Rodolph

Paul S. SmithRichard SquiresJean K. Jones Jr.

Ray HeacockLeon Nelson

George ThompsonRobert A. FlyntAlan G. Curry

Roy J. Reed

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● Criminals with rifles – bullet resistant vests do not stop bullets from rifles● Criminals proficient with rifles and shotguns● Routine work outdoors in adverse weather conditions● Domestic and wild animal bites, clawing, scratching and exposure to

zoonotic diseases● Boarding vessels on open ocean waters multiple times daily● Only law enforcement for miles in some areas● Extended surveillances● Crossing fences on foot, mostly barbed wire● Encounters with rattlesnakes● Surveillances and patrol through poison oak● Falls from cliffs● Lying in adverse topography for hours – mud, detritus, rock

outcroppings, brush, etc.● Heavy exposure to mosquitoes and West Nile Virus● Discover and recover many disguised and concealed weapons● Wearing cumbersome waders or other specialized protective clothing● Use of specialized vehicles and boats, associated hazards● Only back up for marine patrol – US military● Multi-crime incidents

Special risks as a community based peace officer

As visible members of their communities patrolling out of theirhome bases, Game Wardens have additional unique hazards.

● Wardens are singled out within communities – suspects, defendants,violators tend to make an effort to know where the local Warden andtheir family’s residence is located. Sometimes criminals seek out, find, andcontact Wardens at their personal residences.

● Difficult to be anonymous, some Wardens only representative officer forentire counties

● Wardens maintain “resident posts” that unfortunately leads to the publictending to knock on Wardens home door for various reasons any hour ofthe day or night. Wardens tend to get “caught” on days off answeringquestions or other duties, usually not claiming work hours – sometimes atpost office, gas station, grocery store, restaurants, etc.

● Patrol the most densely populated cities as well as the most remote areasof California

● Wardens are a large part of the community identified as public officialsheld to high standards 24/7

Other factors that makeGame Warden work dangerous

Even though the majority of crimes committed by poachers aremisdemeanors, Fish and Game laws are some of the most dangerous laws toenforce. Some poachers are willing to kill to continue their pursuit of killing wildlifethat violates only misdemeanor laws. The illicit trade in selling wildlife partsin “black markets” is second only to the illegal drug trade, involvinghundreds of millions of dollars in the unlawful sale of wild animal parts.

This has led to two additional disturbing statistics:

● Statistics show Game Wardens at much higher risk to be assaulted orkilled in the line of duty more often than officers of other agencies

● Wardens are most likely to be assaulted during their careers

Wardens patrol behind locked gates on large land holdings where there is arestriction on the access for EMS help or backup from other agencies that don’t

“For the past two years, however, thedepartment has had to find ways tooperate with less money from the stategeneral fund, [Sonke] Mastrup says. Fishand Game has lost $7.1 million it hadexpected from the general fund sincethe current fiscal year began July 1.

Budget cuts over the past twoyears have meant fewer fish stockedin lakes and streams, elimination ofpopular urban fishing and “BecomingAn Outdoor Woman” programs, andthe lowest game warden countsince the late 1970s.

‘As the general fund money startsleaving the department again ... thelicense buyers will be carrying a biggertotal percentage of the burden than justtwo years ago,’ Mastrup says. ‘Is it fairthey’re the bulk of the folks paying forresource management in the state? No. Ithink every citizen in the state has aresponsibility for” helping to pay forthat.’”

Paradiase has its priceIf you hunt or fish, licenseswill cost moreAndrew LePage, Sacramento Bee:Dec. 31, 2003

Evidence seized by Game Wardens in the fieldfrom suspects unlawfully using or possessingthese firearms.

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have the same access, yet those areas must be patrolled to protectwildlife. Wardens patrol county, state, federal, and private lands.

Unsafe hunting practices put Wardens at risk. Wardens have beenshot in the face and eyes with shotgun pellets in heavily hunted areas.There have been cases of citizens or suspects negligently dischargingfirearms of those that Wardens must inspect or seize. Working duckhunting blinds, Wardens have had cases of hearing loss and/or powderburns from shotgun blasts. Many careless hunters or poachers stick thebarrel of a rifle or shotgun un-expectantly in the face of the Warden duringcontacts or vehicle stops. Wardens contact persons using firearms whileunder the influence of alcohol or other narcotics – a deadly combinationroutinely encountered by Wardens.

Wardens routinely trail and subdue dangerous and wounded bears andlions. These animals may be depredation animals wounded but not killedby the permit holder or public safety animals where humans have alteredthe animal’s natural behavior, creating an unsafe situation that requires afinal response from Game Wardens. This is a very stressful endeavor thathas deadly results to the animal and sometimes humans. It has become atragic situation that has just in the last few decades somehow become a“political” topic putting Wardens at undue risk. It is a tragic story thatwhen a Warden that has dedicated his or her life to protect wildlife, mustkill an animal that they were sworn to protect. As soon as they do what isrequired, they are subjected to hypocritical comments from people or thenews media which blasts the Warden for “killing” the animal, notrecognizing the fact the Warden has no choice because public safetydictates the action be taken. There have been too many incidents ofextremists threatening to kill a named Game Warden for being the officerthat killed or authorized the killing of a bear or lion. It is very difficult toquantify in words that emotional feeling a Warden must endure to performthat duty the public expects him or her to perform.

Recruitment and retentionproblems continue

It is increasingly difficult to recruit and retain trained and experienced Wardenswhen they often work side-by-side with officers from other agencies, performingsimilar law enforcement duties, requiring less training and education, yet atsignificantly higher salaries. It is also inherently unfair to expect Wardens to live insub-standard housing in order to live within their assigned districts while theircounterparts in other agencies are provided a higher salary commensurate withthe cost of living in that work area. Since 1999, the DFG has increased theirrecruitment efforts, made use of the internet to advertise open enrollmentperiods, and extended filing periods for applications in order to attract peaceofficer candidates. Potential candidates frequently tell recruiters that “low salary”is the reason they do not apply. Clearly, agencies with higher starting salaries andmore potential for salary benefits receive a greater number of qualified applicants.Salary has become the factor in the ability of the Department of Fish and Game tomaintain a qualified and skilled workforce. Without such a workforce of dedicatedindividuals, the very mission of the Department is endangered as well as theimplementation of the public policies enacted by the State Legislature. Currently,the eligibility lists of qualified Warden Cadets are becoming exhausted. Thedemand for Wardens simply exceeds the supply of eligible candidates for thepolice academy. From 1984 until the year 2001, applications for Warden positionshave dropped off 61 percent. To further complicate recruitment efforts, only 21percent of Warden applicants were determined to be suitable for hire. Presently,up to year 2005, these figures dropped even more. Each year, only a few officerswere actually hired.

Existing law requires peace officer applicants to endure a stringent pre-hiringprocess. The process includes a thorough background investigation, a physical

Seized evidence of poached deer involving California’sCoastal areas.

Game Wardens work closely with county lawenforcement and court officials to ensure punishmentfor cases they are involved in.

“This is our duty tothose who share thisworld with us and tothose who follow us:Wherever we see athreat to ourenvironment wemust take action.And I know that byworking together wecan meet the needs ofour economy and ourenvironment andmake this Earth aplace of beauty andopportunity forfuture generations.”

ArnoldSchwarzeneggerGovernor’s Remarks atWorld Environment DayConference

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examination, a psychological examination, a reading and writing examination, acriminal records check, and an educational background check to ensure theapplicant has completed two years of college.

Recent research indicates there were more Wardens patrolling California inthe 1950s than today. The state has not been able to fill positions vacated throughattrition and retirement when coupled with budget woes. Our wildlife and naturalresources suffer. Wardens in the field know of counterpart law enforcementofficers in other agencies who would want to lateral over to the Game Wardenforce, but the cut in pay and the lower benefits are not acceptable in light of costof living realities, the increased workload and danger they would face. TheDepartment of Fish and Game needs to recover its Warden force numbers, and itneeds the funding to do so. Legislation needs to continue to support efforts torecruit and retain wardens to increase and maintain the Warden force.

Primary factors affecting warden recruitment:

● Pay not even with other state law enforcement officers. In comparisonwith local law enforcement, the pay scale falls even lower.

● Field level Wardens routinely handle duties that other agencies assign tohigher level detectives and investigators.

● Wardens have high visibility and therefore responsibility withincommunities as a Department of Fish and Game representative.

● DFG’s police academy is being used by some cadets as a vehicle to enterother law enforcement agencies because the pay is too low to keep themwith DFG.

● Duty for duty, assignment for assignment, Game Warden responsibilities,dangers, and assignments far exceed those of their counterparts in otheragencies. yet Warden pay is at least 40 percent lower.

● Per capita, Game Wardens face greater danger and likelihood of beingseriously injured or killed than any other peace officer.

● With low pay, DFG finds it exceedingly difficult to recruit the mostexceptional individuals in the fields. Those who join the Warden forcebecause of their passion and dedication to California’s fish and wildlifebecome disenchanted with the demands of the job and the low pay whencompared to their counterparts. Finding willing participants becomesmore difficult as time goes on.

● The educational requirements include high school AND two years ofcollege. Many wardens are encouraged to have a Bachelor of ScienceDegree, thus many do. Some hold Masters of Science.

● Game Wardens frequently conduct complicated environmentalinvestigations as well as draft environmental legal documents required forpermits.

● While they are unfunded mandates, the California State Legislaturecontinues to introduce new laws that eventually fall to the Game Wardensto enforce. The duties expand while the pay does not.

Government Code Section 19826 requires the Department of PersonnelAdministration (DPA) to establish and adjust salary ranges for each classification inthe State civil service based on the principle that like salaries shall be paid forcomparable duties and responsibilities. However, since 1982, the gap betweensalaries of Game Wardens has widened until today where we now find significantdifferences in the salaries of peace officers from other agencies. Special salaryadjustments and additional benefits have been authorized, under GovernmentCode Section 19827 and 19827.1, for law enforcement personnel in theDepartment of Corrections and the California Highway Patrol, but similaradjustments have not yet been considered by the DPA for the Department of Fishand Game peace officers. The responsibility already lies with the State to remedythis inequity: like pay for like work. To remedy the situation, the State mustacknowledge Game Wardens as state peace officers and provide them parity inpay with other State law enforcement officers. Parity will provide the opportunityto recruit and retain quality officers.

California’s fish, wildlifeand natural resources at

riskAs the population increases in

California, Game Wardens are calledupon to fill more public service roleswhich require an even greater diversity ofskills and expertise. As California grows,so does its need for additional highquality officers in the field. With morepeople using the natural resources andfewer Game Wardens to patrol andprotect, California increases the risk andlikelihood that it will lose its precious wildheritage. Only through the continuedsupport and development of the GameWarden force can we be assured of ahealthy environment for futuregenerations in California.

Even with tremendous growth in California’spopulation over the years, fewer individuals areinterested in becoming a Game Warden – loweringthe “gene pool” of potential officer candidates.

Marine warden counts an overlimit of 85 crabs offthe coast of San Francisco onboard the Patrol BoatMarlin.

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Most people probably don’t knowthat the Department of Fish and Gamehas an Air Services Unit. The Fish andGame aircraft are piloted by WardenPilots. When all the Warden Pilotpositions are filled, there are eight pilotswho fly and maintain seven airplanesfrom four bases statewide. This unit ofFish and Game wildlife protection mightpossibly qualify as the world’s smallestair force. The scope of the WardenPilot’s duties is enormously varied. Frompiloting an airplane on law enforcementpatrols over land and water, day andnight, in single and multi- engine andturbine powered airplanes to aerial fishplanting in high sierra lakes, topersonnel transport, and all manner ofscientific research the DFG pilot getsthe job done.

Warden Pilots are a unique breedindeed. They must be able to wearseveral hats. All Warden Pilots have gotto be commercial pilots, qualified to flymulti and single-engine airplanes invisual and instrument conditions. Manyof the pilots hold an FAA airlinetransport pilot license, the mostadvanced type of pilot certificateavailable. All the Warden Pilots areexperienced FAA airframe and powerplant mechanics. Some pilots posses, asan additional rating, an inspectionauthorization on their mechanicslicense. The FAA requirement forobtaining a mechanic’s license, atSacramento City college for example,includes four semesters of full timecurriculum at 17 college units persemester, pass a practical test and passthe FAA written tests for aircraftairframes and aircraft power plants.

Warden pilots are required to beable to maintain their own fleet. Sincemuch of the airborne work done is atlow level, a most demanding andhazardous type of flying, Warden Pilotsare all experienced in low level aviation.They must pass check flights annuallyon low level operations from the FederalOffice of Aviation Safety, and aninternal check ride by their own checkpilots. Warden Pilots are experts atvertical and oblique aerial photography.They are experts at airborne radiotelemetry.

As the name implies, warden pilotsare also Game Wardens, all aregraduates of post certified academies,and they are responsible for keeping upall the required training to maintaintheir status as peace officers.

Fish & Game Warden Pilots arefaced with an even greater disparity insalary compared to CHP pilots; in spiteof having vastly greater minimum hiringstandards and qualifications. WardenPilots are required to maintain their ownairplanes whereas CHP pilots are not.Warden Pilots maintain and operate anolder fleet, the majority of their planeswere built in the eighties; whereas CHPpilots fly much newer equipment.Warden Pilots must fly long single pilotpatrols at minimum altitude over theocean, often out of sight of land,lengthy nighttime patrols over themost rugged terrain in the UnitedStates, and fly at absolute minimumaltitude during fish planting operationsin steep high altitude mountains. CHPpilots normally fly with a two man crew.Warden Pilots are full peace officers andhave been in existence in that role since1950.

They fill a very critical role inpolicing ocean fisheries pollution, nightpoaching, illegal stream diversions,marijuana plantations, and oil spills.Warden pilot salaries range around$60,000 a year where their CHPcounterparts are making on average$90,000 per year.

This past year the Department ofFish and Game tried to hire tworeplacement pilots to bring theirstaffing level back up to eight. Theywere unable to do so due to thequalifications required and the level ofpay offered. These positions remainvacant creating a large gap inenvironmental enforcement.

MOTTO

As Fish and Game management issuesgain complexity in today’s politicalclimate, the California Warden Pilot inhis trusty airplane will adjust andrespond.

As if low level flight wasn’t dangerous enough,during a routine low level flight over theSacramento Valley, this 1981 Fish and GameCessna 185 was hit by shotgun blasts. Afterlanding, warden pilots counted 13 pellet strikesto the airplane. Fortunatley, over the years,the bullet and shotgun strikes to the DFGairplanes that have occured were with noinjuries to the crewmembers onboard.

Fish and Game Warden Pilots

A DFG Warden that landed this DFGairplane in an open field after a majormechanical failure to the engine, he notonly went home at the end of his shift,but there were no injuries to personsnor property damage on the ground.Warden Pilots train for emergenciesfrequently but hope they neverexperience one of the most scariestemergencies of all... catastrophicengine failure. Pilots in these situationsgo through the same thoughtprocesses as a peace officer involvedshooting. There is the initial denial thatthis situation can be happeningfollowed by realization and then action.The result of the pilot’s action orinaction is the difference between life ordeath. The difference between an offairport landing and an airplane crash isa nano-second in judgement.

Warden Pilots face the hazardsof law enforcementand thedangers ofairplanefailure

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Warden Cadets and Warden Range A Eligibilities forSocial Services Statewide in California

Using starting salaries of Warden Range A and Warden Cadets with a family of four:

● Both are eligible for subsidized child care.● Both are eligible for free state preschool program for 3 & 4 year olds.● Both qualify for USDA Rural Development Home Loan program● Both eligible for Down Payment Assistance program through Housing and Urban

Development Department (HUD).● New Game Wardens qualify in many urban locations and several Wardens are living in

low income housing.● Cadets qualify for Reduced Fee Lunches at public schools. Maximum income of $2,964

a month (Range A Wardens are ineligible).

A lack of salary parity with other state law enforcementagencies left Game Wardens increasingly powerless to do theirjobs, spread so thin and so poorly paid that some actuallyqualify for the following Social Service programs:

Above left, A Game Warden living in Marin County on Warden pay could barely afford to live in this trailer.Above right, Warden’s children are innocent vicitims of the pay inequity.

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A letter from the field -In this letter from the field, I speak to you not as a representative of the

Department of Fish and Game, nor as a spokesperson for the Fish and GameWarden Association. I am speaking as what I am, a Game Warden. I made theconscious decision to become a Game Warden and to work in the field. I enjoymy job and what I do. Like most Game Wardens, I will tell you that being a GameWarden isn’t just a job, it’s a way of life for me and my family. And as a GameWarden, I am sending you this letter from the field because Game Wardens havebeen quiet for too long. We need you to hear us.

California’s true richness comes from its diversity. No one can disputethat the diversity of its landscapes, ecosystems, fish, wildlife, and geographycompliments and enhances the diversity of the people and cultures which havebecome part of California’s heritage. Californians value their heritage, especiallytheir wild heritage, and in 1871, they established Game Wardens as lawenforcement to protect the natural resources.

So who are Game Wardens? Game Wardens are sworn peace officerswho, for more than 130 years, have had public safety responsibility and lawenforcement authority that spans all 159,000 square miles of the state. We arepeace officers carrying those duties within 220,000 square miles of marine waters. We are your defenders of wildlife,your only law enforcement officer in some of the most remote and rural areas of California, your thin green line againstthe wanton theft of wildlife, destruction of wild lands and degradation of waters. Wardens have been sworn lawenforcement officers for so long that we can boast we were around arresting criminals more than fifty years before theCHP had even been established in California.

During all 13 decades of service, California Game Wardens have consistently, steadily, and quietly pursued theirduties, never aggressively touting their activities, resounding their presence, or flaunting their authority. But trends oflate have left the Game Warden force marginalized and neglected. Game Wardens have almost become forgotten in asea of controversial, complex and chaotic competing interests and needs in this state. Maybe those of us who chose tobe Game Wardens were naïve at first. Each of us joined the Game Warden force to protect and serve Californians andCalifornia’s fish and wildlife. Many of us are passionate about the outdoors, about our wild heritage, about California.We love this state and its people, and daily we place our lives on the line protecting what we love. While this tradition ofpassion, dedication and commitment is as old as the Game Warden force itself, in recent years Game Wardens havesuffered nearly debilitating blows to their morale and drive. Those of us who joined the force recently, lost our naiveté aswe soon learned that strapped by limited resources, plagued by vacant positions, and faced with many dangers, ournumbers have been shrinking through retirements and attrition. Those positions left vacant or cut under budgetcrunches leave those of us in the field at risk even more because our numbers are so thin.

Our numbers have dwindled, our budget has shrunk, and yet California poaching and pollution incidents havegrown and demands for our services have increased. Despite this, we find it ironic that few who need us know exactlywhat it is Game Wardens do. We have so well kept to ourselves, quietly working the rural areas and periphery withoutaccolade or acknowledgement that some citizens do not even recognize us as law enforcement. Some of this stealthhas been necessary. If we broadcast too loudly what we do, we alert criminals to our activities and methods ofoperation – foiling ourselves instead of them.

Our unassuming resolve has had unintended consequences as well. Game Wardens have had unsuccessful contractnegotiations in comparison to our counterparts. We have been so misunderstood as law enforcement officers that onestate agency even declared that we were not “real cops,” and that we faced no real dangers so we did not deserve parityin compensation. Our statistics prove otherwise. We do as much as our counterparts throughout the state, and in manycases, much more. When calling for backup, most peace officers need only say what street, highway or crossroad theyare on. Game Wardens have to describe unmarked and unnamed roads in rural areas where navigation is more an art thana science. Saying “take the left fork just past the tall oak below the boulder” doesn’t really give our backup muchindication as to where we are, but often, it is all we have.

“Our national bird . . shot by a poacher inCalifornia”

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Sincerely,

Jerry Karnow, Jr.Legislative Liaison, California Fish and Game Warden’s Associationjkarnow@saber.net

I have arrested suspects armed with rifles who know how to use them, in remote areas whilepatrolling alone, without any backup, knowing my bullet-proof vest will not stop a bullet from arifle. I’ve been bitten by three different dogs belonging to suspects during arrests. I’ve beencharged by angry, injured bears. I’ve been in vehicle pursuits and arrested felons. I have had mylife threatened and my family’s life threatened because I have been effective enough to foilsuspects’ criminal activity, whether I find a clandestine methamphetamine lab, marijuanagarden, or an organized group of wildlife poachers.

Simply put – I have a very dangerous job. In addition to the dangers, it is difficult to go off-duty. Many people in my community know where to find me and the only way I can have a day off is toleave town. Because of great responsibility, diversity, and dangers with unequal pay, the job has shifted from being themost sought after law enforcement job in the state to being one of the least sought after. Many of my friends who arelaw enforcement officers from other agencies know what my job entails and tell me they would like to be a GameWarden, yet they say they would not do my job. When asked why, the reasons they always say are first: “you guys workalone in the middle of nowhere and everyone you contact has a gun;” and second, “you guys don’t get paid enough.”Being misunderstood has resounding effects upon Game Warden morale and job efficiency, having a direct negativeeffect on wildlife, natural resources and Californians in general. And that saddens me.

And it is something to live with the knowledge that each time we put on that uniform, we may be facing our finalmoments as several of our brethren have. If the initial injury doesn’t get us, waiting for help just might. Warden Jean Jonesdied from a poacher’s rifle because it took too long for backup to arrive. He had been able to radio out to dispatch adistress 11-99 (officer down), alerting he had been shot, but because of the remote location, he bled to death beforeback up was able to get to him. Most recently, Warden Kyle Kroll was shot by a criminal in the Santa Cruz Mountainsduring a drug operation. It took three hours to finally get him out to medical attention. It surprises many that he wasthere, but marijuana gardens fall under our jurisdiction because there are usually associated environmental crimes andconstituent groups of people like hunters, fishermen, hikers, or birdwatchers stumble upon these dope gardens.California statistics show that for the entire history of Game Wardens killed in the line of duty, 57 percent of those killedwere killed by gunfire. In comparison, for the entire history of CHP officers killed in the line of duty, 19 percent of theirofficers were killed by gunfire. Statistically, since 1979, for every CHP officer who has been killed in the line of duty, 1.8Game Wardens have been killed in the line of duty. Every day we put on our uniform, we go to work knowing GameWardens are nearly twice as likely to be killed during their careers than a CHP officer, and three times more likely to bekilled by gunfire.

And yet, with our numbers so low never have we been needed more. The abuse of our natural resources has risen tolevels never seen here before, and the demand for Game Warden services has risen with it. Urgency exists aboutconservation that did not exist in the days of conservation pioneers like Gifford Pinchot, John Muir and TheodoreRoosevelt. The urgency exists because never has there been such a fierce rivalry for land on the part of contenders whohave legitimate but mutually conflicting aims. Land is wanted for offices, warehouses, factories, housing developments,markets, parking lots, highways, and for expansion of cities and towns to service an exploding population. Lands mustbe reasonably protected to avoid over exploitation, which may result in potential loss for conservation. Setting asidehabitat for wildlife and recreation competes with these and other land uses. Yet, if there is no habitat for wildlife, theycannot exist. Though some will say that fulfilling the needs of people should take precedent, we cannot ignore thathealthy watersheds mean higher water quality. Healthy wildlife and habitat affect the health of human populations andour overall quality of life. Our wildlife and other natural resources contribute to our very existence – we are not outsidethe natural community, we are part of it.

As much as humans are part of the natural community, Game Wardens are a part of all communities and need thesupport of the public. With a mere 200 Wardens patrolling, investigating, and making arrests statewide in all 58Counties from Oregon to the Mexico border, from the east side of the Sierra Nevada to 200 miles off the coast in oceanwaters, we have so much to do, and we need your help to do it. We must continue to conserve our wildlife and naturalresources, and Game Wardens need your support to continue doing our jobs to protect those natural resources. We arethe last defense for habitat and the fish and wildlife which have no way to defend themselves. Help us because noWardens means no wildlife.

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21

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On December 17, 2001, the CaliforniaLegislature requested DPA to: “exercise yourauthority appropriately to provideDepartment of Fish and Game law enforcementpersonnel with pay and benefits comparableto those your department has granted to theCHP.”

Five years have passed, warden numbers havedropped by nearly 1/3, and no attempt hasbeen made to comply with the Legislature’srequest to achieve salary parity with CHP.

2001 Letter from members of the Legislatureinstructing the DPA to give parity to Game Wardens --see pages 21 -22.

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Dear Director Robert C. Hight,

Today, Sunday September 23rd 2001, I sit at the desk in my Fish and Game “office”which I have proudly and without compensation provided to the State of Californiafor the past 12 plus years. As I look around the office, I see photos of cases onwhich I, and many wardens more skilled than I, have spent countless hours. I seeinvestigations in which wardens have clearly gone far beyond the call of duty byplacing their own personal safety at risk all with the goal of protecting ourdwindling natural resources. I look at the certificates of achievement, and plaquesoffered in salute and recognition. I sigh at the mounting piles of paperwork and casereports that must be completed in a timely manner, but to do so at this time of yearwould mean that I am not in the field protecting what I hold so dear. Fear not Mr.Director, undoubtably, I will work on those cases late-at-night when my children arein bed and my wife sits alone waiting for me to find some time for “just the two ofus.” Just as likely, I will not claim the hours worked handling those overlooked tasks,all it would do is raise my CTO balance above the 47 hour limit imposed by ourleadership which means I would have to take additional days off which in turn leaves the resource unprotectedand ripe for the poachers to attack.

I am at this moment seeing things on these special walls that have nothing to do with work. A photo of my 5year old son poised to hit the ball from the T-ball tee. My three year old son holding my hand as we walk thegrounds of Humboldt State University where my dream to fight the good fight against resource degradationfirst began. A time where my efforts to obtain a college degree meant far more at the time than it ever hassince. Another photo shows my family dressed up in my wife’s homemade Halloween costumes.

No sir, this letter does not concern my anger and disappointment; as our leader you should be well aware ofthat. This letter is an effort to explain to you what the contract actions have caused me, you , the people ofCalifornia, and most importantly, the resources of California, to lose. The unshakeable determination to makea difference. The unbreakable effort to protect that which has no voice. And the undeniable attitude of “wecan make a difference.” This is what was lost. This sir, is what these endless losing battles have taken from me,and from you. This is something that I will no longer freely give to you as my boss, or to the resources I andothers have valiantly battled to protect.

I write this letter today, by this time, had the opportunity for measured reflection on the contract offer madeto the members of a once strong and proud fraternity; Game Wardens. I have also felt the sorrow andimmense pride felt by all Americans at this time of National tragedy. As strong as my feelings of Nationalresolve may be, my feelings as a Californian are ebbing at an all time low. As I listen to my colleagues and theanguish that they are expressing over the poor contract offer, I realize that I will never be the same wardenfrom this day forward, and that sir is the greatest professional loss of which I could ever have imagined. Nolonger will I dedicate my life to being the finest warden that I could be. Never again will I give the State the freetime that I needed to complete my job in a productive manner. The 24 hours a day, 7 days a week availability isforever gone. The answering machine (powered by my own electricity) will no longer accept calls during theoff hours. The burning swell of pride welling up from within as I describe the significance of my job is to abright young face has been extinguished. Please understand this comes with a price for me as well. You see, Iwill no longer be able to look my small children in the eyes and tell them with any pride that I am a gamewarden. I must forever deal with the fact that I must now cautiously teach my children to always try their bestwhen in fact, their once proud father has given up on something dear to him.

Having recently and very successfully completed teaching the first ever “Environmental Crimes Investigation”class at the DFG Academy, I am personally and professionally saddened by the fact that I will never teach theclass again. How could I when I have no pride in the agency for which I work? Please don’t misunderstand; for40 hours a week, I will work as hard as ever to bring the resource violators to bear for their misdeeds. I willstrive to save what is left of our resources for no other reason to pass it on to my children and their children. Itis what happens after the 40 hours is complete where you will miss me. Any and every warden reading this willunderstand exactly what that means. As for you sir, I do not think that you will. And that sir, has been the veryproblem to begin with.

Respectfully Submitted,

Jon R. WillcoxGame Warden

Jon Willcox

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This report clearly and unmistakably identifies serious deficiencies and problems in California’s ability toprotect the state’s natural resources. Rural crime, poaching, over fishing, poor water quality, compromisedocean fisheries, marijuana plantations, and degradation of our natural resources have reached unacceptablelevels, and not only has the trend continued but the rate of devastation has increased. This reportdocuments the shortfalls, identifies the needs, and outlines the steps that must be taken to correct thedeficiencies. The report does not rely upon the word of one organization or group, but upon the voices ofmany as represented by the news clippings which testify to the need for increased law enforcement and animproved situation for the Game Wardens.

Critics could argue that the reason for the unchecked rise in environmental crimes and degradation may be alack of education. This begs the question: Who needs to be educated? California’s citizens - certainly;governmental agencies - absolutely; the Legislature and Governor — surprisingly, yes.

The California Fish and Game Wardens’ Association (CFGWA) published this report which graphicallydemonstrates the seriousness of the problem. Game Wardens know how serious this situation is because weexperience it daily. CFGWA does not allege a shortage of staff, it has documented it. The Department ofFish and Game (DFG) dispatch center in Sacramento handles calls for in-progress violations, chemical spills,pollution crimes, wildlife incidents, and requests for assistance from other law enforcement agencies. Thedispatchers are only able to contact a Warden immediately about one out of every three calls. Frequently, noWardens are available for hours and sometimes days due current pressing case loads, other calls in progress,and too few staff to cover absences. The situation compromises timely investigations and stretches theGame Warden force dangerously thin.

Moreover, Game Wardens find themselves less available to help the people in their districts. California’sresidents are left to deal with lions and bears in their yards without assistance or guidance. Too many casesrequiring immediate attention prevent Game Wardens from being able to conduct the inspections andnecessary compliance checks to ensure permitted exotic animals are cared for properly, and the publicprotected from the animal’s presence.

The shortage of Game Wardens means that crimes go unsolved, polluters and poachers continue unfetteredin their lawlessness, and the public’s safety becomes compromised leaving California residents disillusionedwith DFG and its Game Wardens. The insufficient number of Game Warden results in poor service, not outof a lack of trying but simply because there is no one available to respond. Citizens experience this and turntheir disappointment and frustration into distrust, dislike, and disrespect for DFG.

Yet, Wardens continue to monitor, board and inspect vessels entering our ports and waterways for terroristactivities. Wardens as a routine check powerline transmission corridors, dams, bridges, water supplies,aqueducts, oil refineries, wharfs, chemical plants, shooting ranges and power plants for terrorist activity.However, we receive no Homeland Security funding of which vast millions of dollars are allocated to thestate.

CFGWA declares this situation to be completely unacceptable. DFG is a public service agency, and theGame Wardens have been the backbone of that service for more than 130 years. To provide the appropriatelevel of service means there must be a sufficient number of qualified Game Wardens. To meet the need,additional Game Warden positions must be funded and compensation must be equal totheir law enforcement counterparts to ensure recruitment and retention. Propercompensation brings qualified individuals to the Game Warden force. Parity in pay will keep them there.

Lack of parity has made DFG a training ground for individuals who become officers with us only to leave foranother department for better pay. If it were the matter of a single digit percent difference, this situationand argument would be moot. But CFGWA documents a situation where a CHP officer receive 90 percentmore pay than a Game Warden of the same rank, serving in the same area.

A Final Note… from CFGWA

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California has long been known as the progressive state, always on the cutting edge oftechnology and social change. Yet, in the arena of protection of our natural resources, wehave fallen seriously behind. We may have the laws and regulations, but we lack sufficientofficers to enforce them. To equal the staffing levels of Texas and Florida, California would needto have 750 officers rather than the current 200. In 2005, Nevada stepped forward when facedwith the same situation and not only provided parity for its Game Warden force with their Highway Patrol,but also increased staffing levels. Alaska and Oregon have wildlife law enforcement enfolded into theiroverall state troopers which ensures proper compensation, consideration and respect.

The California Performance Review, conducted at the request of Governor Schwarzenegger, advocatedcombining all state law enforcement into a single agency. After a series of long, hard discussions, andconsultation with the CFGWA members, the CFGWA decided to stand behind this proposal — not becausethey wanted to leave DFG but because this seemed the only way to ensure that as law enforcement officerswe could receive proper treatment and appropriate respect. Such a move would have included consolidationof dispatching services, better equipment and an agency structure that respected and understood thespecialized needs of law enforcement.

Game Wardens, as shown in this report, are not typical law enforcement officers. Their duties,responsibilities and authority span all jurisdictions, from the local to state to federal levels. At the currentstaffing levels and even with staffing levels equal to those of Texas and Florida, the investment in GameWardens represents an amazingly small fraction of a percent of the entire state budget. Yet the investmentwould have significant and substantial dividends paid out in the form of increased and improved service,protection, and support for California’s citizens and natural resources. Game Wardens not only have to fightcrime, but we have to fight inequity within our service. Game Wardens do not have regularly scheduledweekends off. Couple this with being required to work holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas withoutholiday pay — that statement is correct, there is no overtime — and you create an environment that stressesGame Warden lives and lives of their families.

In the Governor’s proposed budget for 2007, he is including an increase of 278 more CHP officers over 2005levels. That is more personnel than the entire Warden force. He has proposed an increase to CHP’s budget in2007 of $153 million; bringing their budget total to $1.6 billion. In contrast, there is no increase in Wardenfunding, and the Warden numbers will continue to decline as a result. The total yearly budget for Wardens isless than $47 million, less than 1/3 of the proposed increase in CHP’s budget. Wardens comprise only about17% of DFG’s total expenditures.

The history and tradition of the California Game Warden teeters on the brink of extinction as individualswho might have served as the third or fourth generation of Game Wardens in this state turn away becauseof the low pay and high danger. California must reverse this trend, and once again show its dedication to ournatural resources & public safety by supporting the men and women who walk the thin green line,protecting our wild heritage. Support us in this cause. Ensure California’s wild heritage will be a legacy andnot just a memory.

Sincerely,

Officers & Board MembersCalifornia Fish & Game Wardens Association

Joe Mello Bob Orange Ben Thompson Jerry Karnow, Jr Jake Bushey, Sr

Richard Coelho Nicole Kozicki Gary Combes Robert Farrell

28

El Dorado County could lose the majority of its gamewardens in the next five years if salary negotiations withthe state, which have just begun, don’t prove fruitful. Aquarter of the 310-member warden force statewide isexpected to retire in that time, and the CaliforniaDepartment of Fish and Game says that, unless wardenslow salaries are made more competitive, it will not be ableto fill the empty positions with new recruits. Three out ofthe five DFG slots in El Dorado County could be affected,leaving sections of the county without adequate patrols.

“We are for the first time in history,having a hard time recruiting people,”said Chief of Patrol Greg Laret. Fortyslots were open at the game-wardencadet program in Napa this winter,and only 15 applicants showed up. Ifrecent graduation rates continue, asfew as 10 could qualify to go into thefield.

Laret said he recognizes thatwardens’ compensation has laggedway behind the pay in otherenforcement agencies. For example,

an officer for the California Highway Patrol, the mostcomparable position starts at $44,304 and tops out at$62,806 without a promotion in rank. Comparable figuresfor a DFG warden are salary $33,000and $42,000.

Yet the educational requirements forwardens are greater. A CHP officer isonly required to have a high schooldiploma while a warden must have atleast two years of college to qualifyfor the job. Two of El DoradoCounty’s wardens have bachelor’sdegrees and the third is only sixcredits from his degree according tocounty Patrol Lieutenant RobKilbourne.

El Dorado County could lose gamewardens over salary dispute

By Candace CraneStaff writer

2000

In addition, wardens perform what their superiors say is amore challenging job compared to regular law enforcementpositions. Laret said the complexity, independent decisionmaking, and consequences of error are all increased.

“Wardens work among the most dangerous ofenvironments because most of the people they come incontact with have guns,” he said. In the history of thedepartment, 11 wardens have been killed in the line of duty.

El Dorado County Game Warden Bill[Bob] Pirtle said he has walked intosome very dangerous situations. Once,he discovered a man he was checkingout had just killed someone and had asawed-off shotgun in the car trunk hekept wanting to open. Another timewhile investigating deer poaching, heended up in what he called a “whitesupremacy stronghold,” where heconfiscated 100 guns plus explosives.

Even in the face of danger, both Pirtleand Laret pointed out, wardens are ontheir own. They work singly, while other officers areteamed in pairs.

As the new chief of patrol, Laret said wardens “low salariesis one of the issues at the top of his priority list and saidthat the DFG director, Bob Hight, is also very supportive.“We’ve never had a director as supportive as this one,Laret said. “and I have high hopes we’ll be able to reconcilethis year.

Laret called it a frustrating issue to address because hehas no direct influence over the results of the bargaining.Wardens are part of an umbrella union, the Coalition ofUnited Safety Employees, which bargains with the state’sDepartment of Personal Administration. There are severalproblems inherent in this setup, although they varysomewhat according to who is identifying them.

Greg Laret

Rob Kilbourne

Bob Pirtle

29

According to Pirtle, who is the county’s localrepresentative for the Fish and Game Wardens ProtectiveAssociation, the biggest problem is representation byCAUSE. He explained that before Jerry Brown was governor,wardens’ salaries were competitive, set by benchmarkingwith the five highest paid law enforcement positions fromfour agencies in the state. Then Brown institutedcollective bargaining for DFG. Pirtle said, and in thejockeying for representation rights, the wardens ended upin CAUSE.

The problem, he said, is that CAUSE is an umbrella union. Itrepresents many small employee groups with divergentinterests, including non-sworn groups. For example, itincludes fingerprint analysts, DFG dispatchers, state parkrangers, and Department of Motor Vehicles licenseexaminers.

Not only are DFG wardens asmall proportion of theunion’s 5,500 employeemembership, but also,Pirtle said, the union’sdriving force has shiftedaway from lawenforcement. “There aremore non-sworn people inour union than sworn,” saidPirtle, “and the state iswilling to do more for lawenforcement then for non-sworn employees.”

CHP has its own bargainingunit, and the effect of thatseems to show in thesettlements. CHP hasstate-paid retirement, while wardens pay for their own.CHP won an education incentive last year, while wardensrequested and were denied a similar incentive. “That reallystuck in our craw,” said CAUSE President Alan Barcelona.

As a small fish in a larger pond, the wardens say they areunable to get what they need and deserve. “If the unionoffers something to peace officers but not to the others,the rest of the union won’t ratify the settlement,” Pirtlesaid.

Last year, the wardens tried to go around the union, Pirtlesaid, and asked the state legislature to bring them up toparity with CHP. “Legislation was introduced, and itpassed both houses. The governor blue-penciled it, sayingthat it was a collective bargaining issue.” Pirtle said itwould take $7 million to bring wardens up to parity withCHP.

Pirtle said this year, the DPA has offered a generouspackage that will give the wardens parity. However, thesame thing will not be offered to the rest of the membergroups in CAUSE and because of this, “It won’t get ratifiedby the general membership.”

CAUSE President Alan Barcelona wasasked how the union can avoid thissituation. “We’ll get something equalfor the non-sworn members,”Barcelona said.

Another problem in the system,according to both Pirtle andBarcelona, is that the DPA takesorders from the governor,” saidBarcelona. “The governor won’t talkabout the issues with us, and DPAalways tells us, ‘Well, it’s the governor,’” said Barcelona.

Pirtle put it more bluntly. “I believe Hight is the first DFGdirector since the 1970’s that would like to do something

for us, but he’s a pawn inthe system. He works forthe resources secretary,who works for thegovernor.” He said heknows his department hastold the DPA they wantparity for wardens. “So,now it’s in the hands of thegovernor’s mansion.”

Barcelona seems to berunning out of patiencewith the governor. “Thebottom line is that this is apublic safety unit,” he said,“and we’ve told Davis tostart treating CAUSE like itis a public safety unit.”

Fish and Game WardensProtective Association PresidentWayne Kidwell, who is on thenegotiating team, said there willbe another 75 vacancies forwardens in the next 16 monthsand the problems filling them willbe worse in northern Californiabecause the workforce here isolder. “We’re on the brink ofdisaster, if something doesn’thappen real fast…”

For Pirtle, it’s not only a disaster,it’s sad. “Almost everybody in

our department is here because they have an undying lovefor the resource,” he said. “There’s nobody that couldn’tgo somewhere else, but we want to provide wildlife for ourgrandchildren.”

Pirtle, Laret, and Barcelona all said if people want to help,they should write the governor, especially if they aremembers of sportsman’s groups.Candace Crane can be reached at ccrane@mtdemocrat.net

Two young brother spike buck deer poached out of season in YubaCounty. Suspects ran off holding guns when discovered bylandowner.

Wayne Kidwell

Alan Barcelona

30

CALIFORNIA — IF YOU WANT tolearn the truth about yourself, justask your brother or sister. And if youwant to learn the truth about yourcompany, just ask the employees whohave passion for their jobs.

In this case, the company is theDepartment of Fish and Game,and the employees with passionare the 500 (out of 1,600 full-timers) who took the time toanswer a survey about theDFG’s role in protecting thestate’s natural resources.The answers aren’t pretty. Infact, at times, they aredownright ugly.The most shocking responsesare in regard to severalquestions asked DFG gamewardens:*In response to the statement, “In thepast two years I have been directed toignore an environmental law,regulation or violation,” 20 percentanswered “yes.”*In response to the statement, “Somepermit applicants / project sponsorsreceive preferential treatment afterfirst contacting the ResourcesAgency or the governor’s office,” 55percent answered “strongly agree” or“agree.”*In response to the question, “In thepast two years has DFG managementinappropriately intervened in acriminal investigation?” 35 percentanswered “yes.”The survey was taken by CaliforniaPublic Employees for EnvironmentalResponsibility last November, and theresults were released in house earlythis spring. Copies of the questionsand results are now circulating in theDFG, as well as among severaloutdoors writers. Terry Knight, formerpresident of the Outdoor Writers

Association of California, providedexcerpts to The Examiner.New DFG director Bob Hight said he isstudying the survey and alsointerviewing many career employeesabout it before making policy

decisions that will affect the futurecourse of the department. JacquelineSchafer, the recently fired directorwho was on the watch when thesurvey was taken, could not betracked down for explanations.The specifics regarding what lawsDFG game wardens were asked toignore were not available, and nogame warden would speak on therecord in regard to the subject. Onesaid privately, “We’d get killed” ifthey named names and examples onthe record, with a figurative, notliteral, inflection.Other areas of the survey were a bitless controversial. But the results areno less stunning.For example, employees were asked torespond to the statement: “Therecent agency reorganization hasimproved DFG’s ability to protectnatural resources.” This questionmakes sense, since Schafer repeatedlycounted her expensive reorganizationof the DFG as the highlight of her

term. Yet not a single respondent outof 500 answered “strongly agree” tothe statement, and only 10 percentanswered “agree.”There were other astounding answersas well.

* “The Departmentdirectorate has generallyfollowed therecommendations ofbiological, enforcement oradministrative staff in makingdecisions.” Zero percentstrongly agree, 17 percentagree.* “Scientific evaluations atDFG are influenced bypolitical considerations.”Eighty-one percent eitheragree or strongly agree.* “The DFG uses the bestscientific data to make

permitting, policy and enforcementdecisions.” One percent stronglyagree, and 10 percent agree.* “DFG hatcheries, wildlifemanagement areas and ecologicalreserves are in better condition thatfive years ago.” One percent stronglyagree, 7 percent agree.There were also significant answers inother areas.Only 11 percent agree or stronglyagree that the DFG is “adequatelyfunded” to protect wildlife. Some 34percent of game wardens fear “beingrebuked” for enforcing environmentallaws (another 37 percent have no suchfear, 29 percent had no opinion). Some9 percent agree that morale in theDFG is good, but 51 percent stronglydisagree. A higher 23 percent agreethat lines of communication are openbetween employees and DFGmanagement, but 67 percentdisagree.Thus ends the legacy of Gov. PeteWilson and Jacqueline Schafer.

Alarming answers to the DFG surveyOUTDOORS

Wednesday, April 7, 1999TOM STIENSTRA, EXAMINER COLUMNIST

Wardens review search warrant documents prior to anearly morning takedown in downtown San Francicso.

31

THE BAY Area and the rest ofCalifornia are facing a crisis-shortageof game wardens, with so few in thefield that tips often go unchecked.

”We don’t haveenough people tocover the reports,”said Liz Schwall, a DFGwarden who directsthe state’s toll-freepoacher hotline.

There now are 75unfilled game-wardenpositions in the state,and it’s about to get a

lot worse. Of the 310 game wardens inthe field, about half are expected toretire in the next 2-5 years — and,because of low pay compared withother enforcement-type careers,there will be few qualified cadets toreplace them.

”Half the force is eligible forretirement in the next five years,”confirmed Dirk Brazil, deputy directorfor the DFG. “Some are already takingearly retirement.”

It also was confirmed that of 40 slotsavailable in the DFG’s game-wardencadet program now under way inNapa, where future game wardens aretrained, only 17 applicants showed up.

”Of those 17, how many cadets willgraduate and qualify is unknown,”Brazil said, but it could be as few as10-12, according to recent graduationrates for the program.

The ratio of game wardens-to-residents in California is about onegame warden per 112,000 residents. Inthe Bay Area, the ratio is only onegame warden per 300,000 residents.

Starting pay for a DFG game warden is$33,000 and tops out at $42,000without a promotion in rank, and theyusually work solo. In comparison,officers with the California HighwayPatrol start at $44,304 and top out

area closed by pollution — andinstead, the game warden was pulledfrom the scene because of a report ofan unknown toxic substance found ona highway. It turned out the substancewas a bag of flour and the arrest wasmissed. Some have argued that thestate’s environmental protection andnatural resource divisions should behandling nonfish and wildlife cases,not game wardens, to helpcompensate for the low numbers ofwardens afield.

To try to deal with theshortage, patrol captainshave pooled game wardentalent into what they callstrike-force teams, thenattack specific problemareas. That is how the DFGhas been successful inmaking the highest numbersof arrests in history in recentyears for abalone poachingon the Sonoma coast and

illegal fish netting in the San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta.

But it also means that there can beholes in the enforcement web. Anexample was in Northern Californiathis past fall, when game wardenswere shifted to work the opening ofduck season. According to onewarden, that action left not a singlegame warden to patrol the UpperSacramento River near Dunsmuir,where the DFG has spent $19 millionon restoration work since a toxic spilloccurred in 1991.

”Here is the river where the DFG hasspent millions to bring it back, andthere isn’t a single game warden outthere to make sure all that work isn’tbeing undermined by poachers,” saidfishing guide Jack Trout of MountShasta. “That is ridiculous.”

E-mail Tom Stienstra attstienstra@sfchronicle.com.

State Unable to Recruit Enough Game Wardens Tom STIENSTRA

Friday, February 23, 2001

at $62,880 without a promotion inrank and work in partners. Gamewardens also pay for their ownpension out of their paychecks, whilethe state pays for CHP officerspension without touching theirpaychecks.

That is why it is so difficult for theDFG to fill positions in the Bay Areaand Los Angeles regions, where theworkload is high and yet the wardensare priced out of housing in mostareas.

”We actually had a focusedrecruiter at the sports showin San Mateo,” said TomBelt, the DFG’s Bay Areapatrol captain. “Peoplewould ask what the jobpays, and when they heard,they’d say, ‘No way, I’m notgoing to take that job. ‘ “

A sudden infusion of moneyfrom the state’s general budget topay for an increase in salary for gamewardens is unlikely. That is becausejust last year the DFG received its firstbig increase in new money in 16 years,$50 million, which DFG Director BobHight said was used to hire 250 newemployees.

”Frankly, there hasn’t been anycollective outcry against thesituation,” Brazil said. Later, he calledthe lean force of DFG game wardens“the stepchild of state government.”

In addition, game wardens say theyoften spend as little as 10-15 hours onpatrol per week because they now arerequired to respond to potentialdumps of toxic material, as well asendangered-species issues andpermits for development near streamsor wetlands, along with loads ofpaperwork for every action. In onecase, a game warden reportedly wasabout to arrest one of the worstreputed clam poachers in the Bay Area— who had 5,000 toxic clams from an

Liz Schwall

Tom Belt

32

Game WardenShortage

Nearing CriticalStage

Tom Stienstra

Wednesday, March 21, 2001

©2001 San Francisco Chronicle

The ONGOING game warden shortage inCalifornia is a direct result of the state hopingto avoid alienating park rangers and a messyunion fight.

Both game wardens and park rangers belong tothe same union, so if the game wardens get araise, it sets off a bomb for the park rangers,who are also paid far less than officers withthe Highway Patrol and State Police. Pay nowtops out at about $42,000, some $20,000 lessthan most other state officers who carry guns.

One perk that park rangers often get that DFGgame wardens do not, however, is subsidizedhousing in state parks. That causes anadditional conflict for wardens.

Because of the low pay, there are now 75unfilled game warden positions in the state,and of the 310 game wardens in the field, abouthalf are expected to retire in the next two tofive years. That could create a crisis for theprotection of fish, wildlife and other naturalresources because the DFG’s game warden cadetprogram is unprepared to fill the openings. Atthe current academy in Napa, the DFG couldattract only 17 candidates for 40 slotsavailable.

The DFG requests that those considering acareer as a state game warden call its HumanResources Division at (916) 653-8120.

E-mail Tom Stienstra at tstienstra@sfchronicle.com.

©2001 San Francisco Chronicle

This foal was killed by these cougars who, predictably, returnedto feed on their prey. Game Wardens often collaborate with theWildlife Services Division of the USDA as well as many other lawenforcement agencies.

Warden inspecting a bear head and validating a bear tag.

Warden validates deer tags.

33

Sink to newdepths . .

be aCalifornia

Game Warden

34

By MARIA L. LA GANGA, Times StaffWriter

RODEO, Calif.—Mike Buelna, aCalifornia game warden for the past 16years, earns close to top dollar at theDepartment of Fish and Game, but hebarely makes as much money as his 26-year-old daughter Kristi, who justjoined the East Bay Regional Park police.

Brand-new gamewarden BrianRacine, 23, figuresit’s a good thing hisjob leaves him notime to date; hecould never affordit on less than$33,000 a year. “Ibet I could qualifyfor food stamps,”says Racine, who ison call 24 hours aday without backupas the only wardenpatrolling San Mateo County’s 449square miles. [Racine, left the DFGand transferred to another CA lawenforcement agency.]

LiAne Schmidt left teachingto attend the state’s gamewarden academy. Gov. GrayDavis, she notes, “goesaround talking about howCalifornia public schoolteachers are the lowest paidand how we need to remedythat.” A smirk. “Here I am,leaving teaching, going toFish and Game, and takingan $800-a-month pay cut.”

In a state whose image depends on itsmountains and streams, plants andanimals, game wardens feel thatCalifornia has turned its back on themen and women who protect them—tothe detriment of those very resources.

Their salaries are40% lower than theircounterparts at theCalifornia HighwayPatrol. There are atleast 35 vacancies forwardens fromCalipatria to Eureka.In the next five years,the departmentexpects that 185wardens could retire out of an agencythat has only 406 when every position isfilled. The 2001 class at the warden

academy at Napa Valley College inNapa, where students learn howto be law enforcement officersand naturalists, is a paltry 17cadets.

”[This] is shaping up to be theworst year ever in terms ofgetting applicants interested inthe jobs,” says Jack Edwards,assistant chief of patrol at Fishand Game. He acknowledges thatattracting new officers is difficultfor all law enforcement agencies,but he believes his department isin a recruitment crisis fueled by

low pay and a population increasinglyestranged from its outdoor roots.

And when the department cannotrecruit wardens, it “undermines their

ability to perform their publictrust duties” in protecting theenvironment, says AnnNotthoff, California advocacydirector for the NaturalResources Defense Council, anonprofit national publicinterest group of scientists,lawyers and environmentalspecialists. “Certainly thestate should be providing theresources necessary to enforcethe resource-protection laws

we have on the books.”

Nationally, recruitment for gamewardens has become more difficult,particularly in the Southeast, saysRandy Hancock, president of the North

American WildlifeEnforcement OfficersAssn. But in Colorado,where Hancock is awildlife officer, “we donot have the shortageof applicants thatCalifornia isexperiencing.”

One reason wildlifeagencies are having

such a tough time recruiting is theincreasing urbanization of America.Most of Fish and Game’s baby boomerwardens like Buelna were raised huntingand fishing in thestate’s backwoods.Many of its newcadets, like Schmidt,have never cast a lineor aimed a rifle at adeer. Those whospend little time in theoutdoors, wardensnote, don’t look forcareers protecting it.

”Therefore,” saysHancock, “it is harder and harder to getpeople to accept wildlife officer jobsthat pay low, even if the benefit ofworking outdoors most of the timeoutweighs the dollar deficit for a lot ofus.”

Monday, April 23, 2001

Stagnant Pay, Tough Workload ThinRanks of Game Wardens

State services: Salariesonce were nearly even withthe CHP’s but now are 40%lower. Recruitment facesits ‘worst year ever,’ a topofficial says.

Brian Racine

LiAne Schmidt

35

Another culprit is the changing natureof the job. In years past, wardens spentmore of their time with sportsmen,patrolling for poachers andenforcing limits on game.Today, more time is spentwith homeowners anddevelopers, enforcingregulations such as streambed-alteration agreements,as California’s open spacefills in.

Patrol Lt. Miles Young is theFish and Game supervisor incharge of Alameda, SanFrancisco and Contra Costacounties. He has five wardens, two ofwhom work full time on stream bedalterations. That leaves three to patrol1,505 square miles seven days a week,24 hours a day, in an area whosepopulation has grown 13% over the lastdecade.

”We don’t come anywhere nearcovering it,” laments Young, who hastwo vacancies in his region. “It meansthat your wildlife has no protection. Alot of people don’t care, but I have tofeel somewhere down the line thatsomeone cares what’s going on outthere.”

But at the heart of therecruitment problems ismoney. When Youngjoined the wildlifeagency in 1977, wardenswere paid about 5% lessthan Highway Patrolofficers, and CHPofficers regularlytransferred to Fish andGame.

”It was worth 5% to be outdoors,”recalls Lt. Michael Carion, coordinatorof the Fish and Game academy, whonotes that today, wardens are paidabout 40% less than their CHPcounterparts.

The jobs are not incompatible. Wardensenforce the fish and game code, as wellas the state penal code. While Buelna,for example, cites fishermen for nothaving licenses, he also has backed uppolice officers being shot at duringbank robberies, intervened in akidnapping and arrested suspects ondrug violations.

A beginning game warden with abachelor’s degree earns $32,763 a year.A beginning highway patrol officer witha high school equivalency degree earns$47,455. Wardens top out at $46,828a year, while their CHP counterparts

make $65,819. The state pays for CHPofficers’ retirement but not that of thewardens. CHP officers get paid lunch,

while wardens don’t.

In California, only statehospital police and parkrangers are as poorly paid asgame wardens, says SamMcCall, chief legal counselfor the collective bargainingunit that represents a widearray of law enforcementagencies.

The Highway Patrol isconsidered the standard for

law enforcement salaries in the state,because California law requires CHPofficers to be paid an average of thesalaries at the state’s five largestagencies.

The reason? To allow “the state torecruit and retain the highest qualifiedemployees for the California HighwayPatrol,” according to the governmentcode.

It’s a lesson that is not lost on thewildlife agency, which would like torecruit and retain those very samepeople but has far fewer resources to doso.

Last year, after an intensive lobbyingeffort, the Legislature appropriated$7.8 million to bring game wardens’pay up to par with the CHP. Arguingthat such matters should be taken careof through collective bargaining, notlaw, Gov. Davis struck the item fromthe budget.

This spring, the wardens began tryingagain. The rank and file, who are

covered by collective bargaining, havebegun contacting electedrepresentatives and sportsmen’sorganizations to lobby for pay parity.Supervisors, who are not unionized,sued the state to improve wages.

In the long run, says Notthoff of theNatural Resources Defense Council, thestate needs to overhaul how the wildlifeagency is funded. Unlike otherdepartments, Fish and Gamerelies heavily on hunting andfishing licenses and other userfees, which vary from year toyear.

San Diego-based Capt.Mervin Hee, regional patrolchief for coastal SouthernCalifornia, should have 49game wardens to coverterritory in five counties

where 15 million people live. But heaverages 10 vacancies a year, as low-paid wardens flee the expensive regionfor cheaper rural postings.

His wardens are reduced to doing“triage” instead of regular patrol, andserious problems go untended becausehe doesn’t have the staff, Hee says.

His office tried to file formal charges inMarch against a sand-mining operationin a San Diego suburb. The companyallegedly was filling its excavation sitewith contaminated material.

The contamination was discovered ayear ago, but the district attorney hasyet to file charges because the Fish andGame investigation is not complete,Hee said. His overworked wardens havebeen forced to investigate part time.

”You can’t fault the wardens,” Hee said.“They’re doing the best they can in theamount of time they have.”

Mike Buelna sees firsthand how strainedthe wildlife agency is. He used to patrolsome 250 square miles of the East Bay;that territory has grown.

He used to be able to spend more timesimply watching, which he feels is theheart of his job. It’s how he catchespeople who illegally harvest thousandsof clams for sale at local stores andrestaurants. And it’s how he apprehendsfishermen who use illegal gear andhunters who kill more animals than thelaw allows.

”The only way we know where evidenceis being stashed,” Buelna says, “is if wewatch. I’ve had to shorten observationtime.”

Still, Buelna says on a recent spring dayas he patrols the quiet shores ofHercules and Rodeo and the bait shopsof busy Oakland, being a game wardencan be the best job in the world.

He grew up hunting and fishing alongCalifornia’s Central Coast, learned theskills from his grandfather and father,

and passed them along to hisown children. On this day, thesky is clear, waves lap quietlyalong the shore, poppiesbloom.

He is asked, why do the job ifthe pay is so poor? He smiles,spreads his hands. “You don’tsee any fluorescent lights outhere.”

Miles Young

Mike Carion

Mervin Hee

36

It’s ironic that at a time when the restof the nation is pointing fingers atCalifornia for lettingenvironmentalists bringthe state to its knees inthe energy crisis byblocking power plantconstruction, California’streasured environment ismore threatened thanever.

According to the smallcontingent ofCalifornia’s Fish andGame wardens whoare mandated toprotect California’swater, wildlife, fish,and native plant andwildlife habitats frompollution, illegalactivity, anddestruction, a lack ofsalary parity withother state lawenforcement agencies has leftthem increasingly powerless to dotheir jobs, spread so thin and sopoorly paid that some actuallyqualify for food stamps.

The “thin green line” ofwardens is thinner todaythan ever, and feeling likethey should be declaredan endangered species.Only 270 wardens are onduty throughoutCalifornia’s 104,772,550acres, divided into sevenFish and Game regions,including one marineregion that covers 1,100miles of coastline and100 miles out to sea. Within theseregions, a single warden may coverhundreds of miles with no assistance.

Fish & Game wardens are responsiblefor enforcing all of the state’s complexregulations and laws related to fish,

wildlife, water, plants and wildlifehabitats. And, because they patrolthe remote and diverse areas ofCalifornia’s counties, they frequentlydiscover other crimes and back upgeneral law enforcement officers in

situations involving robbery,fleeing felons, kidnappingand drugs.

Now, wardens are warningCalifornia that its naturalresources could be in seriousjeopardy unless the payequality issue is addressed inthe state budget currentlybeing negotiated inSacramento, according toWayne Kidwell, president of

the Fish and Game Wardens’Association, which representswardens in the state.

The pay issue impacts both the abilityof current staff to adequatelyprotect California’s natural resources,

and the ability to recruitmore wardens for itsshrinking force.

In 1977, California’s Fish andGame wardens earnedsalaries roughly equal totheir counterpart — thelaw enforcement officersof the California HighwayPatrol.

Since then, salary parityhas eroded dramatically.Fish and Game wardens,required to have two yearsof college, now earn 40percent less than CHP,which requires only a highschool education. Top payfor wardens is $46,828 peryear, compared to $65,819for CHP. In addition, the

state provides several other benefitsto CHP officers, such as covering theirretirement deductions, and payingextra incentives for night shifts andeducation. These benefits increasethe total disparity toaround 47 percent.

This pay disparity isparticularly dramaticwhen put in terms of awarden’s startingsalary of $2,947 permonth, before taxes,having to coverhousing and livingexpenses inmetropolitan areas.Fish and Game’s Jack Edwards, DeputyChief of Patrol, explains that newwardens are especially put in a bind:“We have the hardest time staffingmetropolitan and coastalcommunities where costs of living are

Fish and Game Wardens SeekPublic Support in Salary Negotiations

May 31, 2001

Media Contact: Wayne Kidwell, president, Fish and Game Wardens’ Association, (707) 459-9265,or the Department of Fish and Game, contact Jack Edwards at (916) 654-3823.

Press Release

Warden’s work in all kinds of weather when poaching and otherillegal activities are most likely to occur.

Wayne KidwellJack Edwards

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Greg Laret

Warden inspecting commercial fishing operationoff the California Coast.

much higher. Most new wardens areassigned to those areas. It’s usually areal shock to them when the cost ofliving hits home. The natural responseis to then try to transfer to otherareas where it costs less to live.”

“The rural posts, however, are mostdesired and are assigned according toseniority. So, it’s a double-whammy totry to attract and retain wardens insome of the densest population areaswhere they are most needed,” saidEdwards.

This creates a constant turnover andshortage of experienced officers inthe critically significant coastalcommunities where the naturalresources and quality of water in bays,wetlands and oceans are mostvulnerable.

30-year Fish and GameDepartment veteranGregory Laret, nowChief of theEnforcement Branch,agrees: “Young peopletell us they can’t affordthe job; senior wardenstell us they can’t affordto stay.”

In 1976, more than 3,000applicants took the exam,with about 2,000qualifying to be hired.Now, 500 may apply during the year,with only about 300 qualifying. “Fromthis number, we are lucky if 15-20start the training academy,” Laretsaid. “Recruiting and training onewarden is a year-long process. Itseems as if for every new hire, we loseground through others leaving forother jobs or retirement. There arecurrently 35 warden vacancies, withup to 20 more expected by the end ofthe year if the pay situation does notimprove. Anticipated retirements inthe next five years mean that we havethe potential to lose 46 percent ofour work force.”

In ways other than compensation,trying to draw comparisons betweenFish and Game wardens and other lawenforcement jobs in the state isdifficult, both because of the scope

of Fish and Game’s physical territoryand the wide array of laws it isexpected to enforce.

“If it’s out there, we deal with it,” saysKidwell. “Wardens stop poachers,stop pollution in rivers, streams andlakes, protect fish spawning habitat,investigate toxic dumping, seek outships leaking oil in the ocean, gatherevidence and perform forensicanalysis, stop illegal dumping inwildlife areas, protect wild animalsand the public from each other, andmuch, much more, including checkingfishing and hunting licenses inaddition to handling other types ofcrime and illegal activity as they comeupon it.”

Fish and Game wardens do not worknormal shifts like other law

enforcement officers,but are expected tobe on duty 24/7.Most wardens are“resident officers,”working out of theirhomes, supplied bythe state with apatrol vehicle andhome officetelephone. They areexpected to respondto situations requiringtheir attention at anytime.

Now, however, because many wardenshave second jobs to make ends meet,they are less available to respondwhen needed. Wardens who cannotafford to live in their assigned districtlive elsewhere, cutting down onresponse time and the availability tohandle calls at odd hours.

Kidwell comments: “For years, thestate has benefited from a dedicated,self-motivated and responsible groupof wardens willing to work day andnight, often in remote areas andalone, and trained to handle a varietyof law enforcement situations noother agency can match. Over theyears, the complexities of the job havegrown tenfold, but the pay has notkept pace with other state lawenforcement agencies.

“Now, we are asking thepeople of California to telltheir electedrepresentatives that theycare about California’senvironment and want topnotch officers out thereprotecting it.

If this is their mandate,and they agree thatwardens are criticallyimportant to protectingCalifornia’s naturalresources, then wardensdeserve to be fairlycompensated for theimportant job we do.

“If the people of theGolden State don’t wanttoxic rivers, trash-filledstreams, oil-pollutedoceans, animals hunted toextinction, or a statestripped of native plants,it’s time to speak up.”

###

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Dale Wong is turning in thebadge he once figured he’dwear to his grave. Likemany Department of Fishand Game wardens, he’shad enough of the low payand the extremely longhours to earn it.

”It’s weird feeling that I’m going togive up my badge,” said Wong, whois taking early retirement inSeptember at 55. “I don’t really wantto part with it.”

But Wong, who has one of the toparrest records as a game warden inthe Bay Area and Delta, said he’drather retire than continue hopingthat Gov. Gray Davis will providewardens with the same pay asofficers of the California HighwayPatrol. The governor rejected a similarproposal a year ago.

The pay of game wardens peaks at$42,000, from which they must payfor their pensions. In comparison,CHP officers start at $44,304, topout at $62, 880 — and can earn asmuch as $71,649, with overtime andincentives. The state also pays fortheir pensions.

”The parity issue is a real problem,”Wong said. “If parity doesn’t happen,then you will see a mass exodus.”

DFG Deputy Director Dirk Brazil hasconfirmed several times this year hisconcern over the future of gamewardens and the DFG’s ability toprotect the state’s fish and wildliferesources. At times, reports ofviolations in the field are now goingunchecked.

Wardens losing war againstlow pay, long hours

Tom Stienstra, Chronicle Outdoors WriterThursday, August 23, 2001

Of the 310 game wardens in the field,Brazil said about half are expected toretire in the next two to five years,and dozens of wardens have openlysaid if they don’t get parity, they willquit as soon as eligible for benefits.

Many also complain that they workovertime and on days off withoutcompensation in order to catch thebad guys. Already, there are 60unfilled positions in the state.

This year’s cadet program, whichtrains future game wardens, showedthe DFG’s limited ability to fill thosepositions while other enforcementagencies are offering better pay. Of40 available slots, only 17 cadetsshowed up. Of those 17, 14 weregraduates, and of those 14, two areimmediately leaving to take jobs withother agencies.

That means this year’s game wardenrecruitment campaign, which featuredDFG appearances and booths atsportsmen’s expositions, netted only12 new game wardens in a state with33.9 million residents. Arresting a sturgeon poacher after a lengthy

SOU investigation.

As for Wong, he said he’s going stopfighting the fight.

”I’m going to live in the Delta and fisha lot,” he said.

”Once I got into it, coming from StatePolice to be a game warden, I knewthis was my last move, and I’ve put in20 years at it,” Wong said. “As it is,the way things are turning out, Idecided I better leave now.” E-mailTom Stienstra attstienstra@sfchronicle.com.

Dale Wong

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Mervin Hee can’t help thinkingabout the difference a fewgame wardens would make.

Hee, chief of the state Fish and GameDepartment’s local office, could protectlobsters and Pismo clams from poaching,assign enough investigators to importantcases and give wardens more time to dopreventive patrols.

But, plagued by chronic staffing shortages, Fish and Gameisn’t doing enough to protect wildlife and their habitats, hesaid.

The Southern California region hasn’t been fully staffed at itsallotted 49 wardens since he was assigned here several yearsago. “We can’t hire enough people,” he said. “I’ve had 10vacancies for the last two years. We never catch up. We neverfill them.”

Between 1992 and 1999, the number of applicants for gamewarden openings dropped by 60 percent, to 508 from 1,286.

The staffing squeeze isn’t unique to the Department of Fishand Game. Law enforcement agencies across the statecomplain that fewer people are applying for openings, andmany of the applicants aren’t as qualified as they were in thepast.

But Fish and Game’s staffing problems are exacerbated bythe low pay the agency offers. Game wardens are among thelowest paid law enforcement officers in the state, starting at$32,700, about 31 percent less than California HighwayPatrol’s $47,500 starting salary.

And many new hires are assignedto Southern California, wherebuying a home is out of theirprice range. One recent hireresorted to enrolling in a federalprogram that helps lawenforcement officers buy homesin blighted neighborhoods atreduced rates.

But many wardens ask to betransferred to more affordableareas of the state as soon asthey have worked the three-yearminimum at their first

assignment. Hee said they are replaced by inexperiencedwardens, fresh out of training, or the positions are leftunfilled.

The department hosts a seven-month warden trainingprogram once a year with space for 50 people. Trainers feellucky if 20 enroll, and this year, only 14 people completed theNapa Valley academy.

”It just gets worse each year,” said Jack Edwards, thedepartment’s assistant patrol chief. “Now we have morevacancies than we have qualifiedcandidates.”

The understaffing also can take a tollon wardens’ morale. They becomefrustrated by seeing the same peopletaking undersized fish, poachinglobsters and fishing without a license,said Scott Bringman, who has worked forfour years as a warden in San Diego County.

On Thursday, Bringman came across Du VanNguyen, 22, whom he says he hasapproached half a dozen times aboutharming natural resources and fishing without a license.

”You just got out of jail last night and you come out and starttaking mussels without a license. You have to start beingresponsible,” Bringman told Nguyen as he wrote a newcitation.

Wardens wonder why local courts don’t seem to take caseslike Nguyen’s more seriously. Their frustration is compoundedwhen repeat offenders are not punished as severely aswardens would like, Bringman said.

Wardens on patrol Wardens on patrol Wardens on patrol Wardens on patrol Wardens on patrol By Kristen Green

UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER September 4, 2001

Mervin Hee

Scott Bringman

40

Pismo clams, whose populations have declined for years, aremaking a comeback in Imperial Beach and Coronado, butpoachers threaten their viability. If the San Diego region wasbetter staffed, wardens would be assigned to keep an eyeout for people taking undersized clams or walking off withmore clams than allowed by law, Bringman said as he surveyedImperial Beach with binoculars, looking for poachers.

”We don’t have enough people in the field at any one time,”he said. “It makes it tough to go out and serve the public.”

Lifeguards trying to help preserve the clam population areequally discouraged. When they call to report seeing peopledigging in the sand for clams, they’re told by dispatchersthat it will take a couple of hours for a warden to show up.

”It’s kind of hard for us to get you guys down here,” ImperialBeach lifeguard Don Davis complained to Bringman.

Wardens spendmuch of their timedoing paperwork,preparing for courthearings andresponding toreports of wildanimals, such ascoyotes, wanderinginto people’s backyards.

Less and less oftheir work week isspent actuallypreventing habitatfrom being destroyed, said Hee, the regional chief.

”We’re doing the best we can with the personnel we have,”he said. The department recently hired a recruiter, andmanagers such as Hee are trying to recruit wardens in theirown districts to improve their retention rate.

This year, the department hopes to convince theLegislature and the governor’s office that it is timefor wardens to get a raise.

”It’s frustrating for us,” Bringman said. “We just don’t get therespect because people say, ‘You’re fish cops.’ ”

Fish & GameWardens Take On

Anti-TerroristDuties

Wardens Using M-14 Assault RiflesPOSTED: 10:29 p.m. PDT October 10, 2001UPDATED: 11:02 p.m. PDT October 10, 2001EMERYVILLE, Calif. — Fish and Game wardens have tradedin their usual waterway duties to help in the safeguarding ofthe state’s waterways.

Wardens are joining forces with the Coast Guard.

“We’re all in kind of strange times. It’s a new role for us, butwe’re glad to participate. We want to keep these ports openand free,” State Fish and Game spokesman Frank Spear said.Wardens normally carry side arms, but now they are alsocarrying M-14 assault rifles on their shoulders, emphasizingthat their newly expanded role is not one that is out of theirleague or training.

Hundreds of Pismo clamsillegally taken were seized asevidence and returned to thewild.

Warden’s patrol by stealth.

“We are full peace officers same as the Highway Patrol. We arefully armed, fully trained. We have a different mission. We’relooking for unusual activities, vessels of interest. We’rechecking bridges, bridge abutments, wharfs and wharf linings.We’re also enforcing the areas around enclosures of Oaklandand San Francisco airports,” Spear said.

The added patrols are going on around the Bay Area and thePort of Los Angeles. Officials said that it is not necessary toadd extra patrols along the Delta. They said that the CoastGuard has that well under control.

Copyright 2002 by TheKCRAChannel. All rights reserved.

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Being a state Fish and Game warden wasa dream job for Joe Brana. Even if itmeant leaving the Los Angeles Sheriff’sDepartment. Even if it meant taking a$1,000/month cut in pay and moving toEl Centro.

Now 47 with 22 years of service withthe California Department of Fish and Game, Brana is alieutenant game warden and one of many claiming he’sterribly underpaid compared to his brethren in the CaliforniaHighway Patrol.

The CHP and DFG are the only two state agencies withstatewide law enforcement responsibility, but that’s wherethe similarity ends.

Since the mid-1980s, Brana and the other game wardenswatched CHP officers leave them in the dust as far as pay,overtime and benefits.

For example, a DFG lieutenant earns $56,556 a yearcompared to a CHP lieutenant’s salary of $86,844. A DFGcaptain earns $64,968 a year compared to a CHP captain’ssalary of $97,332.

A top-step game warden (nonmanagement) earns $57,600 ayear, plus a $300/month bonus for living in an urban countysuch as San Diego. The overtime average is $175 a month.

But a top-step CHP officer earns $66,096 plus a shiftdifferential of between 40 cents and 65 cents an hour fornight duty. Officers have an overtime average of $833 amonth plus $10 a day for phone calls.

”The disparity between a top-step warden and CHP officerwas much larger before a month or two ago, but the gamewardens (nonmanagers) won a new contract through theircollective bargaining agreement,” said Capt. Roger Reese,director of the California Fish and Game Warden Supervisorsand Managers Association.

Reese and the warden supervisors and managers — 107lieutenants, captains and region patrol chiefs — formed the

California Fish and Game Wardens Supervisors and ManagersAssociation out of frustration and desperation. Reese, aVentura-based veteran game warden with nearly 25 years inthe department, is known for his organizational skills,dedication and love for his job. Reese said the last thing theywanted to do was hire an attorney and a labor consultant,but that’s what they have in Sacramento attorneyChristopher Miller and labor consultant David Swim.

On Tuesday and Wednesday of last week, the wardenassociation participated in a court-ordered hearing beforethe Department of Personnel Administration Classificationand Compensation Division. The judge ordered the hearingafter the association filed suit in Sacramento County Court,and the warden association presented its claim that DFGwardens should receive pay and benefits comparable tothose of the CHP.

”The meeting went quite well,” Reese said. “I think our effortat the meeting was effective. We made a very persuasive casethat we deserve parity with the CHP. But we also showedthem that if things don’t change, you’re looking at thebeginning of the end of professional game wardens.”

Reese said the warden association only represents wardensupervisors such as himself, Brana and other managers,because regular game wardens are in a union and have acollective bargaining agreement with the state.

”The state prevents us from representing (nonsupervising)game wardens,” Reese said. “We would have included them inour suit and claim. We are fighting for game wardens as wellas supervisors and managers. What we’re fighting for isprofessional game wardens and that future.”

Reese said the numbers speak for themselves when it comesto the “profound inequity in salaries and benefits betweenlaw enforcement officers in the DFG and CHP.”

After graduating from the academy, a game warden cadetgets between $35,364 and $42,180 a year, while a CHPgraduate earns between $44,304 and $53,844 a year, plustraffic officers get a 6 percent increase for lunch pay andbetween $65 and $130 for physical performance pay. If the

They love the job, not the payDFG supervising wardens being left in CHP’s salary dust

Ed Zieralski UNION-TRIBUNE Staff Writer

December 23, 2001

Joe Brana

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CHP officer has an AA degree, something required for gamewardens, he or she gets an extra $120 a month. A bachelor’sdegree earns $240 extra per month.

There are similar disparities in the two agencies’ retirementprograms.

Reese said the warden association showed the state that theinequity in salaries has diminished the ranks of the DFG. It hascreated a recruitment and retention problem, he said, thatcould diminish the DFG’s ability to protect the state’s fish,wildlife, habitats and streambeds from pollution, poachingand destruction.

In 1976, more than 3,000applicants tested for Fish andGame warden positions, butapplications from qualifiedcandidates have declined tofewer than 500. An official with the Departmentof Personnel Administration saidit is too early to comment on thecase.

But Reese is confident he and hisgroup delivered compellingevidence to the DPA.

One person who hopes so isBrana, the longtime warden inImperial Valley.

”I can tell you that even thoughI’m not getting paid what Ishould, this still is the best job inthe world,” Brana said. “I wouldn’ttrade it for any job, but I just feelbad for the new guys coming in, especially if he has a family,and has to make it living on the coast on the the paychecksthey’re giving.”

DFG pay vs. CHP pay

What: Disparity of pay, overtime and benefits between thestate’s Fish and Game wardens and Highway Patrol officers.

Who: Game wardens have served to protect the state’s fishand wildlife resources since 1870. Their mission statement is“to protect and manage California’s diverse fish, wildlife, andplant resources, and the habitats upon which they depend,for their ecological values and for their use and enjoyment bythe public both now and in the future.”

Game warden’s motto: “Know all that make up ournatural resources and the land on which it thrives. Know thepeople who share it and keep them as happy as you can. Keepthe outlaws guessing, give the honest people the benefit ofthe doubt, and hold no mercy for crooks. But above all, befair.” It’s a way of life, not just a job.

Wardens work out of their homes. They work all hours andare on call 24 hours a day. Their jobs include, among many

other things, checking fishing licenses, hunting licenses, bagand creel limits, undercover poaching patrols, wildlife rescues,habitat restoration projects, responding to hazardousmaterial spills, monitoring commercial fishing, checkingrestaurants and processors for illegal use of sport-caughtfish, training new wardens, investigating hunting accidentsand fatalities, monitoring and providing hunter safetytraining, collecting forensics and evidence. They may alsoencounter illegal immigration, drug trafficking or othercriminal activity in the backcountry.

Issue: Since 1986, CHP officers have pulled away from stategame wardens in pay scale, overtime and benefits

History/overview: The DFGwardens have raised the issue of paydisparity countless times over thelast 15 years. They took the issue upwith the governor’s office, with theLegislature and with the stateDepartment of PersonnelAdministration.

● 1999: The 107 DFG lieutenants,captains and region patrol chiefsformed the California Fish andGame Warden Supervisors andManagers Association.

● 2000: The Legislature agreed tofund $7.85 million in 2000-2001to resolve the pay disparitybetween the DFG wardens andthe CHP. The money would haveraised salaries and added wardenpositions at the new salary levelequal to the CHP. Gov. GrayDavis “blue-lined” the item, andthe game wardens lost theirchance to draw even with CHP.

● 2001: On Sept. 14, Sacramento County Superior CourtJudge Ronald Robie ordered the state Department ofPersonnel Administration to hear the wardenassociation’s case.

● 2001: On Dec. 18-19, the warden association presentedits case to the Department of Personnel Administration.It has 60 days to issue a ruling. — ED ZIERALSKI

Warden with poached elk. A suspect was convictedafter a lengthy investigation.

Another unfortunate result of the clash betweenhumans and wildlife; a dead lion in the Bay Area.

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Game Wardens arethe first line of

defense when wildanimals attack

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Delaware Fish and Game warden may well be one of theunsung heroes of the campaign against terrorism.According to Reuters, on September 19 the warden wasapproached by a Pakistani man with a GPS device whowanted maps of the Cedar Swamp Wildlife Area. ThePakistani man said that he wanted to locate deer stands inorder to hunt in the area. The warden was immediatelysuspicious, for the Cedar Swamp Area is right across theDelaware River from the Salem Nuclear Power Plant. So, henotified the FBI. A search of the man’s apartmentuncovered four rifles and a handgun, as well as an expiredvisa. The Pakistani was arrested, since it is not lawful forillegal immigrants to possess firearms or have a huntinglicense. If convicted, he could spend between 1 and 10years in prison.

Game wardens are probably the least recognized andappreciated members of the law-enforcement community,even though their beat includes the regular laws of peaceofficers, as well as wildlife law. Their job is risky because inhunting season just about everyone they come in contactwith is armed. And, unlike cops, they are often miles fromthe closest backup.

According to Jack Edwards, the deputychief of the California Fish and GameCommission, all peace officers startout by going through a similar seriesof community-college courses on thestate penal code and the basics of lawenforcement. Then they choose aspecialization, with game-wardencadets attending a special academywhere they learn wildlife law andenforcement. Those who take thegame-warden track know they arechoosing a life of independence in the

outdoors, but most people are not aware of the sacrificeswardens make.

For one thing, they take a big cut in salary. Game wardensare usually the lowest paid law-enforcement officers.Nationwide, warden salaries range from the under $30,000to just more than $60,000. A California Fish and Gamewarden with 24 years of experience makes a yearly salaryof $48,000, while a highway patrolman or a state prisonguard with the same amount of experience presentlymakes upwards of $60,000. (Soon, when a new contractgoes into effect, these last will make $90,000, while thereis presently no hope for an increase in warden salaries.) In

some communities, meter maids are better paid thangame wardens.

Another challenge for game wardens is the vast amount ofspace they are responsible for, while operating with a smallwork force. Given their duties and numbers, it’s no wonderthat wardens refer to themselves as “The Thin Green Line.”There are over half a million local law-enforcement officersin the U.S., 72,000 of them in New York City. Nationwide,there are around 7,000 game wardens-close to the numberof New York City police officers assigned to Times Squarealone on NewYear’s Eve.California, with159,000 squaremiles of land, 32million people,and 1,100 miles ofcoastline, has 406game-wardenpositions.California wardenCaptain Tom Belttold me that rightnow there are 279field officers forFish and GameCommission. Incontrast, thereare 28,000 California state corrections officers and 8,000CHP officers.

Unless you hunt and fish, you’ve probably never seen agame warden. But even hunters and fishermen rarely meetthem. In California, the average warden is responsible for600 square miles, while some have districts up to 10,000square miles. They set their own hours, often doing patrolsaccording to nature’s patterns, following tides,migrations, and seasons rather than a regular 8-5schedule. Their unusual hours often place them on patrolat night in a swamp or wilderness, and very often theywork alone. And they are almost always working overtime.The New Jersey warden was not the only one who joined inthe national defense this past fall. After the September 11terrorist attacks, California Fish and Game wardens beganworking on antiterrorism patrols, sometimes going onround-the-clock schedules. Deputy Chief Edwards told methat their anti-terrorism work last fall included boarding asuspicious boat carrying Phillipinos that was running atnight without lights near San Diego. The purpose of thatboating excursion remains unknown.

January 12-13, 2002

Thin Green LineRecognizing and appreciating game wardens.

Warden recovers evidence from bear poached forgall bladder and left in the woods. Recoveredbullet lead to search warrant where two kilos ofprocessed marijuana were seized.

Jack Edwards

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Game wardens deserve a better shake. They do importantwork, protecting nature and nature-lovers, sportsmen, andour nation. In many rural communities they are legendaryfigures who set ethical standards for woods conduct andsave lives because of their backwoods savvy. We ought toknow more about them.

Fortunately, their service has notgone completely unnoticed. Thebooks of California warden TerryHodges — Sworn to Protect, ToughCustomers, and Sabertooth — allavailable through Amazon.com,give readers real-life stories ofgame-warden bravery. Writer C.J. Box’s new novel, Open Season,places Wyoming game wardenJoe Pickett in the middle of anexciting murder mystery. WarnerBrothers has recently boughtfilm rights to this engrossingmystery, with production byBruce Wills’s CheyenneEnterprises.

Law enforcement is not justabout catching and punishing people for committing crimes.The best law enforcement seeks to prevent crime by settingand preserving community standards of behavior that donot tolerate criminal activity. Unfortunately, the appearanceof a peace officer often creates fear, but the California Fishand Game Commission started a program to change this:Game wardens would issue citations for good acts as well asbad. Sportsmen who received “Caught Doing Good”citations for outstanding ethical behavior became eligiblefor a special season-end drawing for valuable prizes. Thisprogram has fallen by the wayside due to lack of funding.Couple the removal of positive reinforcements with fewerwardens in the field and one could easily conclude that thegame warden is as endangered a species as some of thecritters they protect.

— By James A. Swan, “Media Watch” columnist for NorthAmerican Hunter magazine

Five-Rocky Mountain elk poached near Fall River Valley,Shasta County. DOJ ballistic tests, lifting of fingerprints, andDNA forensics were used to convict 4 suspects.

Abalone being shipped out of the country is interceptedby an undercover Game Warden.

Lions are abundant in Californiaand some are large.

Illegal to possess firearms during archery deer season.

Suspects arrested after being caught red handed.Loaded guns found hidden under the dead deer.

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How would you like a job that lets you set your own hours,work surrounded by nature and meet new people everyday — many of them armed, and not all of them happy tosee you?

That’s just part of the career path that lies ahead for somecadets in Napa Valley College’s Fish and Game Academy,who will graduate in August ready to begin their fieldtraining as game wardens for the state.

Twenty-six male and five female cadets from throughoutCalifornia are enrolled in the 28-week academy, the onlywildlife law enforcement training program recognized bythe California Department of Fish and Game.

On top of more than 1,000 hours of peace officer training,Fish and Game cadets spend almost 300 hours studyingwildlife laws, regulations and activities.

They also take to the field for training under real-lifeconditions. In late June, wardens from around the stateconverged on the North Bay Field Headquarters of theDepartment of Fish and Game, in the Huichica Creekwildlife area off Duhig Road in Carneros.

The wardens came together to put the Napa cadetsthrough their paces in an all-day series of “scenarios:”exercises testing the would-be wardens on theirknowledge of wildlife regulations — and their style ofenforcing them.

Some of the cadets are sent to the academy by theDepartment of Fish and Game after placing high on hiringtests, while others are sent by other law enforcementagencies. A third group involves those who enrollthemselves in the hopes of getting a job with Fish andGame. Those people still must pass background checksand meet other requirements of the department beforebeing hired.

Dead ducks tell tales

When Cadet Byron Hernandez, 31, metup with the camouflaged duckhunter inthe marsh that day, he knew it would bea tough encounter.

Hernandez, a former fiberoptic-installation inspector from Dunsmuir

and one of the academy’s top cadets, was positive thehunter had committed several violations of the fish andgame code.

It wasn’t just the hunter’s furtivemanner that tipped Hernandez off,but the fact that he was actuallyCapt. Mike Carion, who runs theFish and Game academy.

Carion had donned waders andassumed an ornery persona to testHernandez and a select number ofother cadets, one by one, on theirknowledge of waterfowl-hunting

regulations. Nearby, a clipboard in her hand, Napa-Solanowarden Nicole Brown watched and listened carefully. Herjob was to evaluate Hernandez’s performance.

After politely greeting Carion, Hernandez began toinspect the hunter’s possessions, looking for violations.

”Sorry to be an inconvenience to you,” he said as Carionwatched sullenly. “Just doing my job.”

Hernandez found several violations, including lead shellshidden in a duck decoy (it is unlawful to hunt waterfowlwith lead shot). He also confiscated one of two deadpintail ducks: The limit is one.

”A guy gave it to me,” Carion argued. Hernandez wasn’tbuying it.

The birds used in the scenario were real, but far fromfreshly killed: They were seized by Fish and Game wardensas evidence of poaching and kept in freezers until thecourt cases were concluded.

Not convinced that Carion wasn’t concealing more illegalbirds, Hernandez carefully examined the rushes at thewater’s edge, waving off bug swarms so thick he had tospit to keep his mouth clear.

A tern flew overhead with a mocking cry as Hernandez,covered with stickers, emerged from the rushes and beganto write out a citation for the violations.

Carion grumbled, but the cadet didn’t lose his composure.“I do appreciate your cooperation,” Hernandez saidcalmly.”

Fish and Game cadets train in NapaNVC has state’s only game warden academy

Saturday, July 6, 2002By LOUISA HUFSTADER, Register Staff Writer

Byron Hernandez

Mike Carion

47

Do what you have to,” muttered Carion.

Keeping your cool is a must

Keeping your cool is an essential part of being a gamewarden, Carion said.”Ninety percent of our contacts withthe public are nonviolent — unlike other law enforcementagencies,” Carion said.

“You’ve got to learn an approach that’s very open,congenial and polite.”

In a deliberate strategy to see howcadets handled bad behavior, WardenSteve McDonald took a provocativestance in the pheasant-huntingscenario taking place about a mileaway.

The mild-looking, bespectacledwarden from San Bernardino Countythrew himself into the role of anobnoxious hunter with no respect for

authority.

Busting McDonald for having shot a henpheasant was just the beginning forCadet Mike Lyman, 36. McDonaldinsisted the dead pheasant was achicken, crumpled the ticket up andthrew it away, complained and stompedaround until Lyman finally told him to siton the ground and be quiet.

”You should havegotten to thatpoint earlier,” saidWarden Josh

Nicholas of Tuolumne County, whowas evaluating the scenario. “Hewas already throwing stuff.”

”As soon as you see me startgetting wound up, wind me backdown,” advised McDonald.“They’re going to see how far theycan push. As soon as you see it,shut ‘em down.”

In the field, where law enforcement backup for a wardencan be one to four hours away, “Your tongue is your bestweapon,” McDonald said.

”Your brain, your common sense and what you say is goingto be your best ally,” added Nicholas. “You don’t want towrite that incident report saying why you had to useforce.”

’Everybody has a gun’

Lyman, who comes from Hanford, was a correctionsofficer before entering the Fish and Game academy.

”This is a different kind of job,” he said with a smile.“Everyone is walking toward you with a shotgun or a rifle.”

For most law enforcement officers, this sight signals adeadly threat. For game wardens, it’s just part of the job —unless they meet a rare sportsman who truly is dangerous.

”Fish and Game crime, a lot of times, has other associatedcrimes,” Nicholas explained. “Some of these people arewanted for doing stupid things or violating Fish and Gamelaws.”

”We don’t know who are the good guys and who are thebad guys,” McDonald said.

Added Nicholas: “But we do know everybody has a gun.”

”The problem is telling the difference between people whoare just out having fun and people who want to kill you,”McDonald continued.

The last state Fish and Game warden to be killed in the lineof duty was shot with a .22 in Pittsburg in 1972, McDonaldand Nicholas said.

But, they said, wardens consistently have the highestassault rate of any law enforcement agency personnel,mostly because there are so few of them: Only about 400wardens patrol the state, compared to some 12,000California Highway Patrol officers.

Wardens also earn less than their counterparts in otherlaw-enforcement fields.Cadets can start as low as$32,000 a year, while the highest-paid wardens — a selectgroup — earn a little more than $50,000.

”The governor says we get paid in sunsets, but youcan’t make house payments with sunsets,” Nicholassaid.

That may help explain why, according to Carion, theDepartment of Fish and Game has more openings thancadet wardens to fill them.

But Lyman, the former corrections officer, is eager to starthis new life as a game warden.

”I can’t wait to get out here and do this full time,” he said.

Louisa Hufstader can be reached at 256-2265 orlhufstader@napanews.com

On the Internet: http://www.dfg.ca.gov/academy/

Mike Lyman

Steve McDonald

Josh Nicholas

48

It’s time to clean out the Department of Fish and Gameand its untouchable five-member commission — and notjust the Gray Davis appointees who grovel daily at thetrough. Turn the place upside down, shake it upcompletely.

How can 30,000 salmon die on the Klamath River andnothing be done?

How can theScott, Shastaand Kaweahrivers be driedup by farmersand nothingbe done?

How can theDelta pumpskill 20,000endangeredwinter-runsalmon andnothing bedone?

How can the100 bestfishing spotson the coastface closure tosport fishing when for years commercial interests wereallowed to net, long-line and trap everything they couldget their greedy mitts on?

How can California fishing licenses be the most expensivein the United States when hatchery production is beingreduced to a shell operation? How can the DFG director,Bob Hight, a 25-year pal of the governor, get away withrefusing to answer to the media and the public?

How can the governor get away with appointing a bunchof favored pals to run the commission? How can twocommissioners not even show up at the most contentiousvote in the history of the Fish and Game Commission, toclose a major portion of the Channel Islands to fishing?

How can the DFG take revenue from licenses — that by lawmust go to enhance fishing and hunting — to pay for petprojects?

The answers are simple: They do these things becausethey can. That’s how it is with the DFG.

It may be a pipe dream to think this would ever change,but here’s how one dreamer would begin:

The power to appoint the DFG director, deputies andcommissioners should be taken away from the latest

governor fromSouthernCalifornia. Theentire DFGshould betrimmed down,reorganized andrenamed.

Either bylegislative act orby initiative, thepower toappoint theleaders of theDFG and itscommissionshould be givento a committeeselected bysenators andassemblymembers

serving on the natural resource commissions. This newcommittee would consist of conservation leaders who arenot paid by government. It would conduct nationwidesearches to uncover and hire the best resourcemanagement talent in the country to run the DFG and thecommission.

The director would then serve a term that doesn’t runconcurrent to the governor’s and would answer to thiscommittee, not to the governor.

There’s more:

All conservation programs would be transferred to theenvironmental department within the Resources Agency,the Department of Conservation.

This would give nongame issues the attention theydeserve. Consider who is minding the store when it comesto endangered species, stream alteration permits, state

A how-to guidein revamping woeful DFG

Tom StienstraSunday, December 8, 2002

Game Wardens attend the Peace Officer Memorial at the State Capitol.

49

wildlife lands, timber review, oil spill prevention, treatmentof animals at pet stores, zoos and live-food animalmarkets, and the spread of invasive species such as pikeand mitten crabs. The DFG? You’ve got to be kidding,right? The DFG does not have the people, talent or moneyto do any of these jobs well, and yet is charged with thesemissions by state law.

The game wardens go next. The current ratio is roughlyone game warden in the field per 100,000 residents. That iswhy game wardens are forced to occasionally pool theirtalents on special enforcement projects. But that leavesvast areas with zero surveillance for weeks, and with it,rampant poaching and illegal wildlife activity.

One answer is to transfer the game warden force andcreate a new division within the California Highway Patrol,to deputize all CHP officers as wardens, and thencoordinate activities between them. That’s how they do itin Oregon.

What would be left is a trimmed-down version of the DFGthat would pay its own way. It would be fundedindependent of the state’s general fund, with moneycollected from the sale of fishing and hunting licenses,stamps, access fees, and federal excise taxes on fishingand hunting equipment.

An independent commission would set policy, seasons andreview permits. An independent director and his staffwould run a scaled-down department. It would be splitinto divisions for fishing, hunting, licenses, hatcheries, anew legal team of bulldog litigators, and a new publicinformation division designed solely to help the publicquickly get the answers it needs.

The name Department of Fish and Game would be junked,just like the current director and his cronies.

In its place would be a new Department of Fishing andHunting. Its sole purpose would be to improve fishing andhunting opportunities and communicate with the peoplewho would be paying the freight. Meanwhile, theDepartment of Conservation would finally have the powerto address critical nongame issues.

For years, many conservation leaders have played I’ll-kiss-your-butt with the governor’s club to try to get what theyneed under the current setup, believing they have no otheroptions.

Well, there are. E-mail Tom Stienstra at tstienstra@sfchronicle.com.

Bycatchbycatch n :unwanted marinecreatures that arecaught in the netswhile fishing foranother species

A rare green sturgeon gets caught in the net. Wardens tryto revive the injured creature.

50

The governor’s proposed budget cutswill mean an increase in state parkfees and the elimination of 31 vacantgame-warden positions with theDepartment of Fish and Game.

However, both State Parks and theDFG were largely spared in thewidespread cuts to state governmentannounced Friday by Gov. Gray Davis.

The biggest change would be anincrease in day-use fees at stateparks, rising from $2 at most parks to$5 across the board. “This is still lessthan $6 once charged” in the 1990s,noted Steve Capps, a spokesman forState Parks. The campsite fee atstate parks would stay at a standard$12 per night, a major victory in thedepartment’s mission to keep its feeslow and affordable for all. In the1990s, campsite fees had climbed ashigh as $18 per site, and often wasmuch higher with add-ons.

Capps said the add-ons would return,however, with an extra $6 charged forRV hookups, for instance.

”We’re still working on the exactdetails,” said Capps, who added thatother likely add-on fees would be forextra vehicles at a campsite, premiumsites, and boat launching.

Meanwhile, the governor’s plan wouldtrim only 1 percent of DFG’s budget,according to Tom Mertens, anindependent state consultant.

The biggest savings are $1.6 million byeliminating 31 vacant wardenpositions, including field wardens andmanagement.

”The budget message says the cutwon’t reduce the enforcementcapacity,” Mertens said. “But that’shardly true because the departmentcan’t fill positions that were vacated

What budget cuts mean forparks, DFG

by retirement and such. At any rate,enforcement certainly won’t begetting any better.”

A program for restoring San FranciscoBay wetlands habitat was spared withsome backroom maneuvering,Mertens said. He described howfunding for acquisitions for Cargill SaltPonds would be transferred fromGeneral Fund money to Proposition 50bond funds. That keeps alive theprogram to reclaim salt ponds in SanFrancisco Bay and transform them intowildlife habitat.

This project also includes restorationmoney for steelhead at Alameda andCoyote creeks in the South Bay, rununder jurisdiction of the WildlifeConservation Board.

In Merten’s analysis, other cuts in theDFG would include:

— $176,000 from the Fishing in theCity Program. “This is a very popularprogram and one of the few DFGpublic-relations bright spots,”Mertens said.

— $425,000 for the DFG to reviewtimber harvest plans. Mertens said thislikely would have an impact in theSierra Nevada, where there are largetimber operations on private land andprojections for increased logging.

— $100,000 for DFG participation andoversight of the CALFED waterprogram.

E-mail Tom Stienstra attstienstra@sfchronicle.com.

Department of Fish and GameExpenditures expected for the current fiscal year as of July 1, 2004.

(Estimated amount in millions)

51

Between budget cuts and fee increases, the Bay Area willsee a reduction in game wardens from the Department ofFish and Game and planted trout at regional lakes fromstate hatcheries.

Under current plans, only 212 game wardens will remain inthe field statewide, the lowest number in more than 20years. That figures to only one game warden per 170,000state residents.

At the same time, the price of a fishing license will beraised $2 to $31. 25 andthe Bay Area’s 750,000anglers will be requiredto buy a new $4 stamp,in fee proposalsexpected to be enactedJan. 1.

”We’re facing cuts at somany different levels,both monetary andemployee, all beingdriven from a lot ofdifferent directions,”said Steve Martarano,information officer forthe Department of Fishand Game. “It’s seemsto change every day.”

In the past, Fish andGame was largelyinsulated from statebudget problems because its primary revenue sources arefrom license sales and special federal excise taxes onfishing and hunting equipment. Not this time.

According to an Aug. 1 directive from the Department ofFinance, $18 million must be sliced to create a final DFGbudget of $257 million. “We may still be subject to furthercuts,” Martarano said.

Basic DFG services such as publishing booklets withhunting and fishing regulations and distributing themacross the state will be eliminated starting this fall,substituted with one-page flyers, printed on both sides.

The biggest impact will be a reduction in the game wardenforce and its ability to patrol for fish and wildlife violations.

”Fish and Game patrol, as many understand it, will end,”said one game warden.

That is because 70 game-warden positions are eliminatedin the new budget. It could be only the beginning. If thestate activates what is called the “30- month surplus list,”hundreds of other DFG employees will be laid off, includingmore game wardens.

All temporary help, a key to running fish hatcheries insummer, already have been let go. This has put the long-

term operation of thestate’s trout hatcheriesat risk, and with it, theability to stock lakeswith trout. In the BayArea, the DFG stocks28 lakes in season.

In the Eastern Sierra,where trout fishingattracts high visitornumbers in the summer,Mono County and thetown of MammothLakes donated$20,000 to the DFGlast week to keepseasonal hatcheryworkers on the jobthrough early fall.

”At the end of August,there is an efficiency

meeting scheduled between local, state and federalofficials, to go over where the hatchery program is, andwhat we can do to improve it,” Martarano said. “We’retrying to minimize the impact as best as possible, so theaverage angler won’t notice that anything is amiss.”

STATE PARK DREAMS: Just three years ago, with the hugebudget surplus, state park rangers dreamed of tacklingprojects estimated as worth $600 million in deferredmaintenance. Now state parks are in a $15 million hole,Gov. Gray Davis hopes to skim boating funds to fill it, andlong-term repairs are off the board.

E-mail Tom Stienstra at tstienstra@sfchronicle.com.

Budget cuts will damage DFG Tom Stienstra

Wednesday, August 13, 2003

Deer poaching and marijuana cultivation seem to go hand in hand;discovered during a pot raid in Santa Clara County.

52

With cuts in January that reduced state game wardennumbers from 400 to around 350 positions, reducedpersonnel in the California Department of Fish and Game isnot an unfamiliar situation to the department’s gamewardens.

Now over 140 more wardens could soon be eliminated fromwhat many feel is an already depleted workforceCalifornia’s sole law enforcement body responsible forprotecting state wildlife and natural resources.

“Generally speaking, fish and game hasbeen understaffed, even in our bestyears,” said Jon Willcox, a marinelieutenant with the department of fishand game.

Willcox’s marine region, which overseescoastal waters up to the Oregonborder, could lose 11 wardens, thelargest potential layoff number ofCalifornia’s seven Fish and Gameregions.

Though no wardens have been laid offyet, the state Department of Fish and Game startedissuing 120-day notices in July, informing wardens workingfor 30 or fewer months they might be laid off in a matterof months. A second round of notices later were given tothose with 40 months or fewer.

Steve Martarano, spokesman for the state department ofFish and Game, said that the exact timeline for layoffs isimpossible to estimate now because it involves severalfactors including when the Department of Finance willfinish reviewing the department’s proposed cuts, and timespent in possible negotiations with the wardens’ union,California Fish and Game Wardens Association.

But according to Sonke Mastrup, deputy director ofwildlife and inland fisheries for California Fish and Game,positions could be reduced as early as mid-November, ifthe Department of Finance were to finish its review now.Fish and Game would then immediately issue 30-day layoffnotices.

Because the possible layoffs are based on service creditlevels, no wardens in Mendocino County are on thedepartment’s surplus list, though Region 3, which includes

Budget cuts forcing massive Fish and Game layoffsBy PEIJEAN TSAI/The Daily Journal

Monday, October 06, 2003 -

Mendocino County, Napa and Monterey, has eight on thelist for possible layoffs, the second highest region tally,according to Martarano.

The sparing of Mendocino County from cuts in wardenpositions is “fortunate,” saidCaptain Mike Wade, Fish and Game’sNorth Coast Supervisor. But if thesecuts the largest Wade has seen inover 20 years happen, wardens willface greater challenges with feweremployees able to work.

“The work that’s out there thatneeds to be done does not stop,”said Wade, who said cuts wouldmean fewer to do tasks likeinvestigations of endangeredspecies, response to environmentalcrimes and protection of animalhabitats.

If the cuts go as planned, Region 3 couldlose up to nine wardens, said SteveWhite, a Willits game warden and theRegion 3 union director for the CaliforniaFish and Game Wardens Association.

“Cuts hurt our ability to protectresources, so if you cut out patrolwardens, you’re reducing oureffectiveness,” White said.

Another region in California with thegreatest potential layoffs, according toMartarano, is Region 5 (Los Angelescounty to the south border of California)with seven possible layoffs.

Wardens are currently approaching numbers from the early1970s, said Martarano. This means that wardenssometimes have to cross regions and prioritize calls, hesaid.

With reduced numbers, White noted that there is aproblem with being able to complete work, since wardensare not allowed to work overtime. Situations could alsoarise where no one would be available to answer a callbecause there aren’t enough employees.

Jon Willcox

Mike Wade

Steve White

53

“It’s really difficult to limit yourself. You can’t do the job in 40hours,” said White.

As a game warden, White said, responsibilities are greaterthan typical law enforcement patrol officers. Unlike otherbodies of law enforcement, field wardens often work inremote and rural areas, and must be proficient on severallevels from enforcement, to investigation, to education onwildlife and terrain.

“We have so many different hats we have to wear,” White said.“A basic warden has more training and responsibilities than abasic patrolman.”

Currently, the Department of Fish and Game is under a hiringfreeze, which includes holds on promotions or transfersacross regions.

With cuts to junior wardens, entering the department now isalmost impossible.

Martarano said that of a class of 14 to-be wardens thatgraduated a few weeks ago, the positions they were slated togo into have been eliminated.

In Wade’s division, he supervised two wardens in MarinCounty who recently graduated from basic police academy —and also received notices they might be laid off in months.

Willcox said he recently spoke at Humboldt State Universityto 45 wildlife students, many who wanted to be wardens. Headvised them to finish college, and said he hoped there wouldbe jobs for them in the future.

“I wouldnt want to be sitting in those classes now,” Willcoxsaid.

Abalone checkpoint on opening day of Abalone season.

Warden arrested a man in possession of 235 kokanee salmontaken from a closed section of Bucks Creek in Plumas County.The subject was reportedly teaching his children to fish using thenets pictured.

Three suspects arrested for illegally killing these three female deerin the Mendocino National Forest.

Warden owned dog on patrol; used to recover hidden evidence.

54

May 25 — You may have seen stories here on ABC7 aboutthe illegal trade in exotic animal parts, such as rhino horn,tiger bone, or elephant tusk. But now, the I-Team uncoversthe bizarre practiceknown as “bear farming.”Dan Noyes has thisexclusive report.

Pictures of the bear farmsin China are disturbing,but we won’t show youthe worst of it. Productsfrom those farms are on sale here in the Bay Area, and thedemand is causing a surge in bear poaching in our stateparks.

We took our hidden cameras to San Francisco’sChinatown, and with the help of Canadian author andanimal activist, Anthony Marr, bought illegal bearproducts — pills and shavings from a bear’s gall bladder.

Anthony Marr (reading ingredients): “So, the ingredientslist includes ‘fael ersee’ which is gall bladder.”

Marr has seen the products for sale across the country, ashe promotes a book about the use of endangered animalsfor traditional Asian medicines.

Marr: “This is my culture, too. I’m also a Chinese person,but I think that cultures should evolve along with thetimes. All of the bear species in Asia are driven to the pointof extinction, they’re all considered to be endangered.”The bear pills and shavings are sold as a cure-all and forarthritis or liver problems. To meet the demand, bearfarms have sprung up across China.

Right now, 7,000 bears are being kept in tiny cages theirentire lives — they never get out. They undergo a painfulprocedure in which the bile from their gall bladder isextracted with a catheter - or, it just constantly dripsfrom an open wound into a bowl.

Jill Robinson: “Maybe in 50 years time, we’re gonna lookback in this industry with complete shame. It’s almost apractice that belongs in medieval times.”

But the farms can’t meet the world-wide demand for bearbile and gall bladders. They’re more expensive thancocaine on the black market. A single gall bladder can costas much as $10,000.

With so much money at stake, California game wardens areseeing a surge in bear poaching. Last year in Bakersfield,eight men were caught and convicted for poaching — thebear parts went to market in San Francisco and Asia. Oneof the men bragged to investigators, he alone killed 87bears that year. But arrests like this are rare.

Bizarre Practice Of Bear FarmingThe I-Team Investigates

Jerry Karnow, Fish and Game: “Those folks are gettingsmarter and we have fewer officers so that combination ismaking it tough.”

Jerry Karnow is the only Fish andGame warden assigned to YubaCounty. He has the impossibletask of covering 1200 squaremiles a day, by himself. By thetime he got to this crime scene inPlumas National Forest, thepoachers were long gone.

Karnow: “This is an actual nooseand that’s still bear hair.”Poachers killed this bear, took the gall bladder and lefteverything else behind.

Karnow: “When I see that activity, you know, I don’t like it.”

There are also problems at the Fish and Game crime lab inSacramento. It’s critical to building a case againstpoachers, but the lab is so underfunded that the scientistshave a case backlog of three to four months.

Jim Banks: “We too have our finger in the dike and we’rejust holding, hoping thatyear after year maybesomething is going tochange.”

There’s one bright spot inall this — activists aremaking some progress inChina. The government hasfinally admitted the bearfarms should be shut down— they’ve signed anagreement. The process will take years, but refugees fromthe bear farms are already filling sanctuaries.

Robinson: “It just breaks our hearts because the bearshave never, never had a life. They’ve never known what it isto live life like a bear... They are a remarkably intelligent andforgiving animal and we’re just so proud to be workingwith them.”

In some cases, bear bilemedicines have beenproven to work, but youhave no guaranteewhat you’re buying isthe real thing. And, there are synthetic versions that arewidely available and just as potent. There’s a tremendouscultural barrier to overcome.

To learn more about bear farming visit,www.animalsasia.org/.

55

NO WARDENS, NO WILDLIFE

Evidence from arrests of multiple suspects involved in a bear poaching ring from ShastaCounty. Multiple conspiracy charges were filed and included felony convictions.

56

Faced with massive budget cuts, layoffs and a hiring freezefor at least two more years, the Department of Fish andGame has announced that it will close its warden trainingacademy at Napa Valley College.

The warden academy was one of several peace officertraining programs offered at the Criminal Justice TrainingCenter at the college. The academy attracted hundreds ofstudents from around the state over the past 15 years.

Budget cuts in January forced Fish and Game officials toeliminate 51 vacant game warden positions, and anadditional $18.6 million budget cut is pending before theDepartment of Finance, according to Fish and Gamespokesman Steve Martarano.

In addition, every employee with less than 30 monthsseniority — about 150 Fish and Game employees, including32 game wardens — may be laid off in the next 30 days.

The cuts drop the department to about 225 gamewardens in the field, similar to 1971 levels, Martarano said.

Mike Carion, an instructor at theacademy, said he was “displeased andsurprised” when he found out that theacademy would be closing. The 22students in this year’s graduating classdiscovered that their jobs were injeopardy shortly before graduating inAugust.

”Essentially they got layoff notices,” saidGreg Miraglia, director of the Criminal

Justice Training Center at NVC. “It’s horrible.Congratulations, here’s your diploma, and now you’re fired.

”From my perspective ... the real damage is there will beless people to protect the natural resources.”

The 28-week course provided basic peace officer training,similar to training given to police officers and sheriff’sdeputies. It also provided instruction in Fish and Game-specific skills, such as identification of wildlife and how tohandle hazardous material spills in waterways.

At the Yountville Fish and Game office, Lt. DonRichardson said his office has lost personnelfor four positions over the last year. At onepoint this year, his squad of game wardens,who cover Napa County and western SolanoCounty, was reduced from four to two.Currently he has three people in his squad.

Richardson, who graduated from the wardenacademy in 1993, described the trainingprocess as a “pretty high-stress environment.”

Even with the training, he said, it is tough for his squad tocover the necessary territory when fully staffed. Now, witha reduced staff, it is even more difficult.

However, withhuge fundinglosses and ahiring freeze,Fish and Gameofficials madethe decision tocancel thewardentrainingprogram.

”We won’thave aprogram in2004. We’reprobablylosing people,” said Carion.

However, Carion said that his department is looking intotraining wardens through a partnership with the CaliforniaDepartment of Parks and Recreation. By splitting some ofthe overhead expenses, and sharing resources where thetraining overlaps, Fish and Game could potentially open anacademy next year, but most likely not in Napa, he said.

Jack Edwards, deputy chief of patrol for Fish and Game,said he is hopeful that the new governor will reverse thedecision to eliminate game wardens since these are publicsafety positions.The Associated Press contributed to this report

NVC loses academy for game wardensFish and Game cuts jeopardize graduates’ jobs

Friday, October 24, 2003By GABE FRIEDMAN

Register Staff Writer

Wardens in training with specialized firearms.Mike Carion

Don Richardson

57

Some 150 Fish and Game employees who had receivedlayoff notices got the news this week that they won’t befired after all.

At the same time, the rest of DFG’s 2,000 employees, thestate’s guardians to natural resources, celebrated thedeparture of former director Bob Hight and the arrival ofveteran wildlife manager Sonke Mastrup as acting director.

As predicted in TheChronicle two weeksago, outgoing Gov.Gray Davis named hislongtime pal Hight asa judge inSacramento SuperiorCourt.

Mastrup, whopreviously headed upthe state’s Wildlifeand Inland FisheriesDivision, took overthe DFG on Mondayand immediatelybegan a juggling actwith the DFG’sbudget andpersonnel.

The stateDepartment ofFinance ruled that DFG could shift 149 employees who arescheduled for layoffs into vacant positions, rather than firethem. About 45 game wardens are included on that layofflist, including 13 who recently graduated from the DFGgame warden academy.

”They all have positions,” said Steve Martarano at DFGheadquarters in Sacramento. “The Department of Financegave us some flexibility. We’re able to postpone having toact on layoffs.”

This will complete the present $17.2 million reduction plan,including $7. 2 million of general fund money, leaving theDFG budget at $257 million.

”We’re not out of the woods yet,” Martarano said. “Wehave some serious financial shortfalls we have to address.We’re definitely getting smaller, with a lot smaller staff.”

150 DFG workers won’t be laid off Tom Stienstra

Wednesday, November 12, 2003

A two-year hiring freeze, followed by eliminating vacantpositions, such as those left by retirements, has put theDFG in a position in which employees might be shifted in afar-reaching puzzle faced by acting director Mastrup.

Mastrup and the new DFG executive leadership said theywould examine each of the programs and also assess theemployees — and then match the right people in the right

job in the right place.

”We’re trying to domuch with less,”Martarano said. “We’reworking to come upwith a plan to best usethe people that wehave.”

In some areas, such asin the eastern Sierra inInyo County and atShasta Lake in NorthernCalifornia, volunteersare helping raise fundsand temporarymanpower to help atfish hatcheryoperations facingsevere future cutbacks.

Meanwhile, the exodusby Davis political

appointees has started. Already three deputy directors atDFG have left this week, along with Hight.

— Campaigning for director: Nobody hasever campaigned to be director of Fish andGame and been appointed — politicalappointments usually come from thegovernor’s stable of insiders — but 26-yearDFG staffer Jack Edwards hopes to be thefirst. He is actively campaigning at a Website, www.jackaedwards.com, with positionpapers available on nine issues. A sample:“Fishing license dollars would not be usedfor non-fishing related programs.”

E-mail Tom Stienstra attstienstra@sfchronicle.com.

Joint academy at Asilomar, Monterey County. Field uniform inspection.

Jack Edwards

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Dear editor,

The other day, the Register publishedthe big news that the CaliforniaDepartment of Fish and Game isending the game warden trainingprogram because of “budgetproblems.”

The only “budget problem” is thatGray Davis and our State Sen. WesChesbro’s budget committee havebeen draining money from fishing andhunting licenses into other, more“worthy” causes such as payingmembers of the 400 or so Californiaboards and commissions $100,000per year to show up once a month andapprove the staff recommendations.

This is the happy hunting ground forpoliticians who have been kicked outof office, are politically connected, orhave shown themselves to be totallyincompetent. The appointment of ourformer Caltrans director is an exampleof this. They get appointed to aboard or commission, show up

Dear editor,

Game wardens are probably the leastrecognized and appreciatedmembers of the law enforcementcommunity, even though their workincludes the regular duties of peaceofficers, as well as wildlife lawenforcement. Many of the peoplewith whom wardens come in contactare armed and often miles from theclosest backup.

Inexcusably, game wardens are paidconsiderably less than the 8,000California Highway Patrol officers.The 28,000 California statecorrections officers just got a 6.8percent pay raise, while wardens’salaries are frozen and overtime paycanceled. Not acceptable.

Public Opinion

Game Warden sponsored tatical firearms training: Bay Area Wardens.

Help save game warden jobs Tuesday, November 4, 2003

California’s game wardens face animpossible task and wildlife suffersaccordingly. California has 159,000square miles of land, 1,100 miles ofcoastline, 35 million people (andgrowing) and only 375 wardens topatrol it all. Probably 1,000 wardenswould be necessary to do the jobproperly. A reasonable salary for thisdangerous yet critically importantwork would help attract the neededqualified personnel.

Recently, the Department of Fish &Game announced plans to lay off 32to 38 wardens this month, roughly 10percent of an already understaffedwork force. Again, not acceptable.Poaching is on the increase and “TheThin Green Line” as the wardens like tocall themselves, is the last bastion of

protection for our beleagueredwildlife and the environment. Withoutmajor reforms, game wardens are likelyto become as endangered as some ofthe critters they so dedicatedlyprotect. They are my heroes. Yet fewin Sacramento seem to care.

This dismal situation should be madea campaign issue for every now — andfuture — governor and politician. Thegovernor and all legislators may bewritten c/o The State Capitol,Sacramento, CA 95814.

Eric MillsCoordinator, Action for Animals,Oakland

Hunting, fishing license $ taken Thursday, November 13, 2003

occasionally, sign something theirstaff has prepared, collect their$100,000, and go merrily on their way.

Our “budget problem” has notdeterred Gray Davis from payingovertime to finish the new CarquinezBridge a week early so that he canhave a ribbon cutting ceremony aweek before he is dumped out ofoffice. Now you know where your taxmoney is going.

Hunting and fishing licenses provideplenty of money for the game wardenprogram, it just never gets there; justlike much of the gas tax money nevergets to road repair; tobaccosettlement money never gets totobacco programs; and in many casesschool bond money never gets toschool buildings.

Lee TophamSt. Helena

59

The last thing any sportsman or woman wants to thinkabout when he or she is fishing, hunting, camping, orboating is the politics that regulate what they can andcannot do. It is natural to take offense when what weenjoy doing becomes hampered by some anonymous,political obstacle.

Enjoying the outdoors is special. The beauty of nature andthe freedom to drive into the wilderness and camp or fishis a privilege we expect. Nevertheless, certain rules andregulations must be in place to protect the environment;we need someone to police those rules, yet there is littlefuture funding for new Fish and Game wardens.

California is politically overweight. We have hundreds ofcommissions, from the Fish and Game Commission to theBridge Commission, the Pacific Coast FisheriesCommission to the State Agriculture Commission. Everytime we have a problem, whether it is a concern presentedto the County Board of Supervisors or even the CityCouncil, no one wants to make a decision, so we haveanother study commission. The problem with all of thesecommissions on the state level, is that they becomepermanent. The people who sit on these boards arepolitical appointees, and many receive salaries of $50,000-to $100,000 a year to meet once a month and makedecisions. In addition, this decision-making, for the mostpart, is just approving what the planning staff hasrecommended.

In light of our current state budget crunch, I have someideas for cutting some dollars out of the budget. First,there are hundreds of dedicated Fish and Game employees.They have worked their way up the ranks and live with theproblems on a daily basis. Why not have the regionalmanagers choose the next Fish and Game Director?Choose someone from the ranks who knows the problemsand streamline the department. Ask the Fish and Gameregulars for suggestions on how to make their work moreproductive.

Another suggestion would be to put biologists back intothe field and turn much of the environment work over tothe Environmental Protection Agency. Maybe let the Fishand Game personnel reverse the trend of 75 percent of theemployees working at a desk filling out paper work andput them back into the field; biologists’ work is muchmore valuable outdoors. It is more important thatbiologists study habitats, nesting patterns, diminishingpopulations of wildlife, and so on. Paper work can be doneby secretarial figures.

Presently, 30 percent of all the fishing and hunting licensefees go into the state general fund. That’s almost $20million we sportsmen have paid that the DFG doesn’t get.

If that money was allowed to funnel into where it wasintentioned, maybe we wouldn’t have to close the GameWarden Academy in Napa, and the recent 50 graduateswould not have to be given their pink slips along with theirgraduation certificates. Maybe special programs like“Becoming an Outdoor Woman” would not have to be cutfrom the budget. Maybe we could concentrate more onsetting aside more land for wildlife. We need more habitatfor all kinds of wildlife.

Governor Schwarzenegger, please don’t fall into the sameold trap and appoint a friend to be the next Director ofFish and Game, and then when the governorship changes,give that appointee a judgeship as a favor, like Gray Davisdid. Please try to keep politics out of wild California. Try tokill some of the commissions, put those millions of dollarsback into our hands. Fix our roads and cut commissioners’annual pensions in half, as well as their annual salaries.

We would all like to serve on a commission for three yearsand get $100,000 a year to make a meeting once or twicea month, and then after three years get the $100,000 ayear for life, but this is a pattern that benefits only a few.There are also the medical benefits. Our politicians aretaken care of for life with medical benefits while I continueto have to pay twice what I used to.

We have a big wildlife bill that is working its way throughthe process; many sportsmen and environmentalists areconcerned about losing access to huge portions of thestate. If the bill goes through, much more land in Californiawill be permanently protected, which is a good thing.However, because vehicles will not be allowed in the areas, Ihave mixed emotions. Only hikers and horseback riders willbe able to enjoy the splendor.

I hope that our new governor will start to cut some of thefat and not create more commissions to study theproblems, thereby allowing the problems, as well as ourbudget woes, to become permanent. We pay enoughtaxes in this state to pay all the bills. If we are going tohave a beautiful and safe California for our kids, I think thenew governor should start cutting at the top. In theprivate sector, we must make a profit or lose our jobs. If itmeans cutting some managers, then that is what we mustdo.

We will wait to see what Governor Schwarzenegger will dowith this one; further cutbacks in our dedicated Fish andGame personnel is not the answer. The 2 million licensedsportsmen in this state deserve a better representation inour state government.

E-mail Napa Valley Register outdoors columnist GeorgeCarl at gcarl@sbcglobal.net or call 253-0665.

The politics of fish and gameThursday, November 20, 2003

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After a more than two-year freeze onhiring, California’s game wardens findthemselves at their lowest staffing levelsince the 1960s.

Since that time, the Golden State’s population has morethan doubled, urban and rural growth has spawnedincreased conflicts between wildlife and people, and newenvironmental rules have made wardens’ jobs morecomplex.

“It is pretty frustrating,” said Bob Orange,now the lone warden in Plumas County. “It isme, myself and I here.”

But given the warden shortage, PlumasCounty, population 20,350, might beconsidered lucky. Some counties don’t havea single warden based there.

Former Warden Warren Duke said he wasnever replaced in Tehama County when heretired in 1996.

“You heard it from landowners, ‘There is poaching goingon,’ “ Duke said. Wardens from other counties can takecare of problems in Tehama County, but NorthernCalifornia’s vast expanse makes it difficult for them torespond quickly.

Since the hiring freeze started in2001 under former Gov. GrayDavis, the California Departmentof Fish and Game is down morethan 100 law enforcementpositions and expects to be downanother 50 by the end of the year.

Currently, 350 wardens,supervisors and Fish and Gamepilots patrol California’swaterways and shores, enforcestate hunting and fishing laws,and uphold dozens of environmental regulations.

H.D. Palmer, a spokesman for Gov. ArnoldSchwarzenegger’s Department of Finance, reported thathe couldn’t say whether the governor is aware of thedepartment’s situation.

Palmer said Fish and Game administrators have notrequested an exemption to the hiring freeze.

If they don’t ask for an exemption, Palmer said, “the dutiescan be carried out by the resources they have on hand.State services are being maintained at a level that theresources are able to support.”

Department of Fish and Game spokesman Steve Martaranodeclined to name the counties without wardens out of fearit might accelerate poaching.

Martarano said the department is working on a plan toalleviate the shortage by putting more supervisors back inthe field.

But help won’t be coming in the form of new wardensanytime soon.

The department shut down the academy this year becausethere are no slots to fill.

Fish and Game Capt. Dennis DeAnda said he and others aretrying to “do the best we can,” but he concedes the staffreductions are hard to paper over.

“It is going to be very, very difficult for us to maintain anylevel of visibility,” DeAnda said.

And reduced visibility leads to increases in illegal fishing,hunting and dumping.

“They don’t see you. There is not aconcern you are going to be there,”DeAnda said.

DeAnda recalls a family campingtrip a couple of years ago at aTahoe-area campground when theattendant told him they could fishout of season because “there are nogame wardens in South LakeTahoe.”

There still isn’t a full-time warden working from LakeTahoe, DeAnda said.

With the number of wardens at his disposal dwindling,DeAnda said he can’t justify stationing one there.

Few and far betweenA hiring freeze for game wardens makes a hard job harder

By Ed Fletcher — Bee Capitol Bureau - (Published April 11, 2004)

Bob Orange

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He’s down to 15wardens to coverSacramento, Yolo, ElDorado, Amador,Calaveras, Alpine, SanJoaquin and portionsof Solano and ContraCosta counties. Whenhe took over in 2002,

he had 20 wardens at his command.

Beyond being short-handed, tight budgeting makeskeeping wardens in the field difficult.

The Schwarzenegger administration’s recently requestedbudget reductions have DeAnda worried that he’ll run outof gas money in June. He may have to send out twowardens per vehicle to get by.

Overtime restrictions also present a problem.

In late March, DeAnda had three successive calls aboutturkey poaching but no wardens to send without incurringovertime.

“We get calls we are not able to respond to,” Orange said.“You can’t handle it. You can’t do it.”

While the fees paid by hunters and fishermen are going up,service is eroding.

This imbalance will eventually upset stakeholders, Dukesaid.

“I want to see the wardens out there,” said Jim Eichler,president of the Barstow Gun Club. “I pay $30 for a huntinglicense. I want the guy next to me to have to pay his 30bucks, too.”

Eichler said there isn’t a regular warden in his neck of thehigh desert.

“If it’s not opening day of dove season or opening day ofdeer season,” Eichler said, “you are not going to see one.”

About the Writer—————————————

The Bee’s Ed Fletcher can be reached at (916) 326-5548 orefletcher@sacbee.com.

“It is horrifying that we haveto fight our own governmentto save the environment,”Ansel Adams

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The number of state game wardens protecting California’snatural resources is projected to shrink by the turn of theyear to a ratio of only 1 game warden per 182,500residents.

“Yes, it’s an issue,” said RyanBroddrick, director of theDepartment of Fish and Game. “Weneed more people in the field. I wantmore eyes and ears on the ground.”In an interview this week in YosemiteNational Park, Broddrick confirmedrumors that 28 more game wardensare expected to retire by Januaryfrom a force already depleted byearly retirements, the elimination ofunfilled positions in 2001, a hiringfreeze and low pay compared to theCalifornia Highway Patrol.

That would leave huge gaps in patrol, especially in ruralcounties in Northern California, Broddrick said, so he willorder that some office supervisors be transferred to thefield.

“We’re going to straight line supervision and reducebureaucracy,” Broddrick said.

Three years ago under previousdirector Bob Hight, game wardenTerry Hodges of Oroville said that theDFG turned into an “administrativemachine” that reduced patroleffectiveness. Hodges, now retired,said that DFG lieutenants wereshifted from the field into officepositions, and that paperwork was“tripled.”

Broddrick, a former game wardenhimself, said that assessment was accurate, but that evenif he is successful in shifting supervisors to field patrol,“we’ll be lucky to break even.”

Broddrick said projections show that, by January, only 200game wardens would be in the field to protect fish,wildlife, endangered species and habitat in a state with36.5 million people.

Because of job responsibilities that include signing off onstream alteration permits, responding to toxic spills andpollution reports, among other non-patrol duties andlengthy reportsrequired foreach, gamewardens saythey spend littletime providinggeneral patroland surveillanceto protect fishand wildlife.

In addition, theDFG hasconfirmed in thepast that thereare too fewgame wardens inthe field toconsistentlyrespond and prosecute violations in progress reported to itstoll-free poacher hot line.

Parks to stay open: While federal administrative offices willclose Friday to honor the late President Reagan, nationalparks will remain open with all visitor facilities available.

Trout bill’s big push: Assemblyman Dave Cogdill, R-Modesto,is formally asking fishing organizations to support his bill, AB2280, which would provide one third of sport fishing licenserevenue to fish hatcheries. The bill was approved 66-5 by theState Assembly and now goes to the Senate NaturalResources and Wildlife Committee on June 22nd.

“Instead of constantly wondering where your fishing licensefees go, with this measure you will know positively that atleast one-third of it will go toward making sure hatcheriesare operating at full capacity to ensure that waterways areabundant with quality fish,” Cogdill said.

More bear problems: In Yosemite National park, there were16 more food-raiding bear incidents in the past week, raisingthis year’s total to 96, an increase of 109 percent comparedto the same time last year.E-mail Tom Stienstra at tstienstra@sfchronicle.com.

State game warden numbersexpected to dwindle

- Tom StienstraThursday, June 10, 2004

Warden used quad to gain access through statewildlife area and several miles into the backcountry on private property to locate and arrestsuspects that hid a deer they poached.

Ryan Broddrick

Terry Hodges & Rip

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As a state that claims great passionfor natural resources andconservation, the sprout-and-granolabunch in California isn’t showing muchconcern these days over its fish andwildlife.

Texans should monitor the situationalong the Pacific Ocean and makecertain it never occurs here.

At the California Department of Fishand Game, tight budget, earlyretirement incentives and hiringfreezes have reduced enforcement’sranks to a point that threatenswardens’ abilities to overseeefficiently such a large, resource-richchunk of real estate.

Mike Wintemute, deputy director forcommunications at DFG,acknowledged the situation and saidMonday that director RyanBroddrick’s new “straight lineenforcement” model actually shouldresult in a net gain of field personnel.That system will replace one heavywith middle managers who spendmost of their time behind desks.

Still, California’s game wardens will beincredibly overextended.

Come January, even under the newstructure, there will be only 200 fieldofficers covering a state of 36.5million people.

(At its peak two years ago, DFG’senforcement division had 403 swornpositions, Wintemute said.)

California poachers must begiddy knowing that their statewill have one warden for every182,500 residents. Texas has 480game wardens today, about one forevery 45,400 Texans.

An upcoming cadet class will pushthat number higher than 500 for thefirst time in six years.

Big states, big jobs

California or Texas, 200 or 500, gamewardens are overworked andunderpaid.

In the eyes of license holders,enforcement personnel are expectedto patrol around the clock and toanswer calls immediately, which oftenis impossible. A warden covering aterritory the size of Connecticutmight already be on a call.

“Our wardens have to file reports, butthey spend about 85 percent of theirtime in the field,” said Jim Steinbaugh,head of enforcement for the TexasParks and Wildlife Department.

Steinbaugh added that wardens’interactions with the public aren’talways about checking licenses andwriting citations.

In addition, he also expects his staffto be receptive and available, be it ona jetty or in a café, when people havestories and information to share.

“It’s like we’re always running foroffice,” Steinbaugh said.If so, then each of us gladly shouldmake a “campaign contribution.”

I recognize that license costs are highand offered a potential solution forlow-income families in this same spacelast week.

I also recognize that one of the bestways Texas can safeguard its wildlifeand fisheries (aside from improvingwater quality and restoring habitat) is

Texas should note California’s woesMore wardens will lose their jobs in Golden State,

leaving behind hefty workloadsJune 15, 2004By DOUG PIKE

to protect them from illegal harvest.That costs money.

Pay to play

If long-term resource protectionmeans pitching in another buck ortwo to fund more game wardenpositions, I will pay.

If it means passing a hat in front ofthose who neither hunt nor fish butwho benefit from healthy naturalresources, I will help pass it.

As troublesome as Texas’ situationmay seem at times, it is better thanthat in California, where there are 50percent more people to be watchedby fewer than half as many gamewardens.

It will be interesting to follow thisstory, to see if California’s legislature -which provides the majority of theDFG’s budget via the state’s generalfund - shows genuine concern forwhat professional wildlife managersthere must see at least as a worrisomesituation.

If Californians care as much abouttheir wildlife and fisheries as do thepeople they’re paying to managethose resources, they’d better findthe money to put more outdoorscops on the beat.

Texans should be thinking along thesame lines and always willing to maketough decisions now in the name ofsound management rather than laterin that of recovery.

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Game Wardens are thefirst line of defensewhen wild animals

attack

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SACRAMENTO (AP) — The stateDepartment of Fish and Game ischanging how it manages its gamewardens because of a worseningshortage that has left some portions ofthe state without any protections at allagainst poachers.

The realignment will phase out somesupervisors in favor of field officers overthe next three to five years, giving thedepartment more flexibility in assigningwardens where they are needed, saidspokesman Steve Martarano.

To add more wardens after a yearslonghiring freeze, the department is on theverge of establishing a permanent jointlaw enforcement officer trainingprogram with the state ParksDepartment and the Department ofForestry and Fire Protection at CDF’straining academy in Ione, Martaranotold The Associated Press.

The hiring freeze since 2001, ongoingbudget cuts that once threatened totrim wardens’ ranks to 1971 levels, andthe loss of wardens to retirement andbetter-paying jobs since the late 1990shave cut the number of wardens from402 three years ago to 352 now.

The number had been even lower, andhad been expected to drop to about300 by year’s end. However, thedepartment recently was allowed tohire 22 new wardens to replace about25 wardens expected to soon depart.

“It’s been this sort of steady declineand, because attrition is not an evenprocess, we had a lot of inequities,”Martarano said.

Eight of the state’s 58 counties woundup with no wardens at all. Somelieutenants were overseeing two orthree wardens, others nine or 10.Wardens were restricted to operatingwithin the boundaries of one of sixgeographic regions.

Statewide Realignment to Spread Out GameWardens’ Thinning Ranks in California

By Don Thompson, The Associated Press 08/15/2004

“They couldn’t respond to somethingthat was in Region 6 even if they werecloser” but from a neighboring region,he said.

Under the realignment, wardens will nolonger report to a regional manager, butto enforcement Chief Tom Pedersen.

They’ll be organized into fourgeographic districts, plus a marine unitand an oil spill response unit, butPedersen will be able to juggle hiswardens as needed.

“The big goal of this is to get morewardens in the field, not as manysupervisors,” Martarano said.

Because of the hiring freeze, thedepartment shut down its wardenacademy at Napa College this year,after operating it there since 1989.

But now it plans to hire the last 22wardens who graduated from theacademy, after they complete fieldtraining this fall. Five of those wardenswill be trained at the CDF academy inIone, where the three departments plana permanent joint training programstarting in 1997 if the umbrellaResources Agency approves.

And for the first time in 20 years, thedepartment is anticipating approval tohire other officers who already havetraining and experience in lawenforcement, for instance with localpolice departments. Those wardens willget their specialized Fish and Gametraining on the job, Martarano said,instead of being required to firstcomplete a six-month academy.

Most photographs containedin this document showingdead wildlife were the resultof those killed illegally bypoachers or taken bydepredation permits.

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State park rangers and fish and game wardens may lose theiridentity as distinct law enforcement entities in California. Anew vision of a statewide reorganization has these men andwomen in tan shirts and green trousers eventually wearing thesame uniform as the CHP and a host of other agencies,combined under a single chain-of-command.

Reformed in the name of efficiency, rangers and wardenswould be homogenized intoone force of Department ofHomeland Security personnel.Parks, wildlife refuges andother resource sites wouldthen proceed to ask for theiraid on an as-needed basis.

“We see all sorts of benefitfrom bringing them (lawenforcement agencies)together,” says ChrisReynolds, who leads theresource and conservationcomponent of the governor’smassive, CaliforniaPerformance Review project.“Synergies in training,equipment and so forth. Amore intuitive governmentstructure, one that citizenscan easily understand.

“It won’t hurt those core parkfunctions, like publicrecreation and natureinterpretation. But it brings the rangers, one of the 10 largestlaw enforcement groups in the state, into one more efficientagency. To any extent parks actually need law enforcement,they can then become clients of that department.”

“On the surface, or in the abstract, this idea may look good,”says Elizabeth Goldstein, former manager of San Francisco’sparks and recreation department. She took the helm of thenonprofit, California State Parks Foundation in June. “But it’snot really well thought-through. Remove law enforcementcapability of park rangers and lifeguards, somesuperintendents as well, and you seriously reduce ability ofthe parks to perform their mission.”

“If you create a new force, then parks have to pay for theirservice plus overhead, it just doesn’t make sense financially.Nor does it on the merits. Instead, if you just concentrate oncross-training and better communication between agencies,you achieve the desired end, but without the damage.”

A longer arm of the lawPlan to reorganize rangers, wardens stirs strong debate

Paul McHugh, Chronicle Outdoors WriterThursday, October 14, 2004

In Gov. Schwarzenegger’s whirlwind push to win office lastyear, an often- cited solution for curing our state’s ills waselimination of “waste, fraud and abuse.” Now, he seeks tomake good on it via an executive order that launched aCalifornia Performance Review (CPR) process in February.

By examining all state agencies, figuring ways to blendfunctions, subtract redundancy and heighten efficiency, the

administration says billions ofdollars may be saved.An initial report from the 250-member CPR study teamsassigned to this process wasfinished in August. Since then,their recommendations havebeen aired in a series of eightpublic hearings run before aspecial CPR Commission.Soon, the report and thecommission’s findings go tothe governor. He may forwardthe reorganization plan to thestate’s Little HooverCommission for furtherdeliberation. A package ofstatewide changes could besent to the Legislature foraction early next year.

State employees are at theedge of their swivel chairs,pondering what this meansfor their lives and workloads— not to mention pay and

benefits. Rangers and wardens, plagued by pay that’s notkept pace with the cost of living (or recent paycheck boostsfor prison guards and the highway patrol) have suffered forcerecruitment, retention and morale problems. These groupsfeel ambivalent about the looming shift.

The California Department of Parks and Recreation hasabout 700 personnel with peace officer (POST) training andcertification; 325 of these are field rangers, 75 are lifeguards,the remainder are supervisory personnel, many of whom wereonce field rangers. There’s about 70 ranger positionsstanding empty.

“There’s vagueness in this new CPR plan. It needsclarification,” says Scott Pace, a ranger in Sonoma whorepresents supervisors in a statewide rangers association.“Yes, there can be benefits from collective equipmentpurchases, from joint training. Getting everybody on a unifiedcommunication system would be great. But efforts to dosome of these things are already underway.”

Investigation of domestic goat killed by lion and fed upon bya bear in Nevada County.

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Pace concedes the benefit of a command and controlstructure for state emergencies. Yet he objects to pullinglaw-enforcement rangers completely out of parks.He compares these rangers to a Swiss Army knife, able toopen various tools to run campgrounds, perform resourcemanagement or provide nature interpretation, yet alsopossessing a blade to pop open for law enforcement —while also providing a continuous visual deterrent to crimesand misbehavior the rest of their time on duty.

“Now, that’s efficient!” Pace says. “For each ranger theypulled out, they’d need at least two hires to backfill on all ourtasks. It’s far better to keep us there, and have us on call forstate emergencies.”

Val Bradshaw, president of CSPRA (California State ParkRangers Association, which represents 670 park personnel ofall descriptions), says, “People who want to take our rangersaway don’t understand thehistory. We added lawenforcement functions forpublic safety in the 1970s. Inremote areas, it took too longfor peace officers to show up.Now, we get calls to help fromsheriff departments, andoften our ranger will be firstto arrive on a scene.”The California Department ofFish and Game’s warden forcehit a high of 450 POST-certified personnel in 2001.

Then came a hiring freeze, andlosses through retirement andtransfer. Now, there’s 354,which includes 110 supervisors(state guidelines stipulatethat law enforcementpersonnel must be directed byother POST-certified people). Their tasks range from wildlifeprotection to spotting stream alterations and pollutionviolations.

The department hopes to treat shortages by moving 14supervisors to patrol, and relaxing boundaries onenforcement regions. Eight rural California counties currentlylack any wardens of their own.

Joe Mello, president of the California Fish and Game Warden’sAssociation, says, “We have salary issues, and lots ofequipment problems. Like, a third of our patrol vehicles havemore than 100,000 miles on them. But there’s no money fornew gear. Maybe that would improve if we were part of a bignew department.

“We do have some resources, like patrol boats, that can be abig help with state safety.

“But the real issue is, will this take us off our core mission? Youjust can’t do warden work if you don’t spend a lot of timelearning regulations on fish, and duck seasons, or know whatit’s like in a stretch of woods or where a creek goes. If this

reorganization is all about sticking a bunch of guys on a shiftand saying, ‘OK, today you chase poachers. But all the rest ofthe week, you’re on traffic detail.’ Well, that just won’t work.The resource will lose. It’ll take an awfully big hit.”

For Pace also, the good of the resource stands paramount.“Our surveys say a top public concern is safety,” Pace said.“State parks are now a safe place to play. People want themto be that way. But if law enforcement rangers aren’t on site,that suffers.”

Reynolds cites figures from a park study showing rangersspent about 23 percent of their work day on lawenforcement activity. That, he says, shows the public doesn’tget full, potential value out of a large group of POST-certified personnel.

“Does a ranger really need that certification?” Reynolds asks.“It raises costs to the statefor that limited period ofservice.”

Pace says that the 23percent figure is years old(based on a 1997 report). Heclaims a new survey ofrangers in his group shows abetter figure now is 46percent.Reynolds says it would still bemore efficient to put lawenforcement on call. “Somepeople say we can’t deployour resources in a way thatgives parks a quick responseto emergencies. That justdefies logic. It seems to workpretty well in the rest of theworld.”

In any case, CPR commissioner Carol Whiteside says, largeand immediate revisions likely aren’t in the cards.“It doesn’t make a difference whether incremental orwholesale change is selected,” Whiteside said. “It still mustgo step-by-step. You can’t just wave a magic wand, move theicons, and call it done.”

Whiteside, former mayor of Modesto, served the Wilsonadministration in resources and intergovernmental affairs.Now she runs a Central Valley foundation called The GreatValley Center.

“Our very first step ought to be getting far better statewidecommunications,” she said.“It’s crazy. We have a ubiquitous lottery system, kiosks inevery corner of the state. But we don’t yet have inter-operable radios for all agencies. Maybe, in a crisis, we shouldjust try to send personnel to the closest lottery terminal.”

E-mail Paul McHugh at pmchugh@sfchronicle.com.

URL: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/10/14/SPGMF998KE1.DTL

Illegal streambed alteration: This creek was totally devastated bya proposed housing development; no permits were issued for thestream work. Total fines were $775,000. Plumas County.

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WASHINGTON, D.C.—Threats, harassment and attacksagainst National Park Service rangers and U.S. Park Policeofficers reached a new record in 2004, according toagency records released today by Public Employees forEnvironmental Responsibility (PEER).

Chronically understaffed NPS law enforcement is facinggrowing homeland security needs and increasingly violentsituations with static resources and little agency support.

National Park Service commissioned law enforcementofficers were victims of assaults 111 times in 2004, nearly athird of which resulted in injury. This figure tops the 2003total of 106 assaults and the 2002 total of 98.

Law enforcement work in the National Park Service is themost dangerous in federal service. National Park Serviceofficers are 12 times more likely to be killed or injured as aresult of an assault than FBI agents. Overall, NPS lawenforcement has a morbidity rate triple that of the nextworst federal agency.

Across the country, nearly half of all the incidents (54)took place in areas under the jurisdiction of the U.S. ParkPolice on the National Mall, the Statute of Liberty, theGolden Gate Bridge, the Camp David perimeter, dozens ofD.C. area parks and five parkways. Yellowstone NationalPark experienced the most number of incidents (16) in2004 of any single park.

“The National Park Service has an astoundingly poorsafety record for its officers,” stated Randall Kendrick,Executive Director for the U.S. Park Rangers Lodge of theFraternal Order of Police, noting that NPS allows peoplewithout a law enforcement background to manage the lawenforcement function in most parks.

“If anything, these assaults against park rangers areundercounted. If there is not a death or injury, pressureswithin a national park can cause the incident to bereported as being much more minor than it is in reality andit is not unheard of for an assault to go unreportedaltogether.”

The Department of Interior’s Office of Inspector Generalhas repeatedly called for more officers on duty in the NPS

but these recommendations have yet to be heeded. Due tocontinuing budget cuts, the outlook for more officers inthe upcoming fiscal year is even bleaker.

“The U.S. Park Police today has fewerofficers than it did before September11, 2001,” commented PEER ExecutiveDirector Jeff Ruch, whose organizationis representing former U.S. Park PoliceChief Teresa Chambers who is fightingher termination for speaking outagainst the dangers posed byunderstaffing to the visiting public andto national icons, such as the LincolnMemorial and the WashingtonMonument. “On top of an expandedhomeland security role, the day-to-daydemands of police work on the U.S. Park Police continue togrow but its resources have not kept pace.”

The National Park Service is the only land managementagency that refuses to track violence directed against itsbiologists, naturalists and non-commissioned rangers,according to PEER which maintains the country’s onlydatabase documenting violence against federal resourceprotection employees.http://www.peer.org/news/news_id.php?row_id=561

ATTACKS ON NATIONAL PARK LAW ENFORCEMENTHIT ANOTHER ALL-TIME HIGH

Ranger and Park Police Staffing Cannot Keep Up With Rising Security and Visitor DemandsFor Immediate Release: August 3, 2005Contact: Chas Offutt (202) 265-7337

Manhunt and MurderHosting 4 million visitors annually, urban problems spill over intoNational Parks. A ranger was shot three times while investigating aroadside traveler. Displaying intimidating weapons, park rangersblock roads to check tourists’ cars while hunting for the suspect.Hikers are checked as they return to their cars. Park visits oncemeant that families could let down their guard, but as greaternumbers of people use the parks, more crime is reported.Domestic violence and theft are most common complaints.

Chief Teresa Chambers

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A state Fish and Game warden was shot in both legs and aman was killed during an early morningraid on a large marijuana farm nearMount Umunhum in a remote area ofSanta Clara County.

The unidentified dead man, who hadbeen guarding the pot farm, was hit inan exchange of gunfire during the raid,which was carried out by Santa ClaraCounty sheriff’s deputies. A secondsuspect being sought was consideredarmed and dangerous.

Warden Kyle Kroll, 27, of MountainView, whose injuries were not life-threatening, was flown by helicopter toSanta Clara Valley Medical Center, saidSteve Martarano, spokesman for thestate Department of Fish and Game. Heunderwent surgery and was listed instable condition.Kroll was the first California gamewarden shot since 1979, when a wardenwas killed as he tried to apprehend asuspect near Pittsburg, Martaranosaid.

Terrance Helm, a sheriff’s spokesman,said Kroll was confronted by twoarmed “watchdogs” more than twohours into the raid. “That’s when theshooting began,” he said.

Helm said he didn’t know how manyshots were fired or if anyone else,besides for Kroll and the dead man,was involved in the shooting.

Helm said all available deputies andSan Jose police officers were “scouringthe hillsides” for the second man.Kroll was evacuated by helicopterabout 10:30 p.m. The suspect, Helmsaid, died while sheriff’s deputieswaited for a SWAT team “to securethe area.”

The approximately 3-acre pot farm ison the eastern slope of Mount

Umunhum in a 17,000-acre open-space reserve. Owned byMidpeninsula Regional Open SpaceDistrict, it is closed to the public.

More than 10,000 plants, most about 5feet tall, were discovered.

District staff altered authorities to thepot farm.The area is so remote that it takesabout an hour to hike from the nearestdirt road, Helm said.

Robin Schwanke, a spokeswoman for thestate attorney general’s office, saidagents from the Campaign AgainstMarijuana Planting were not involved inthe shooting.

“CAMP was scheduled to be out there,but they weren’t out there yet,” shesaid. CAMP, a 22-year-old program runby the state Department of Justice,provides aerial support and manpowerfor local law-enforcement

agencies that request help.

Martarano said Fish and Gamewardens are often requested to assistin marijuana eradication raids“because of the potentialenvironmental crimes associatedwith these kinds of operations.” Thecrimes includestream-bed degradation and waterpollution, often caused by the use ofan excessive amount of water.Kroll was one of three wardens on thescene this morning.

Contact Ken McLaughlin atmclaughlin@mercurynews.com or(831) 423-3115.

Game warden shot near Mount UmunhumSUSPECT DIES DURING RAID ON POT FARM

By Ken McLaughlin and Brandon BaileySan Jose Mercury News

Posted on Fri, Aug. 05, 2005

Kyle Kroll

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Editor’s note: This is the second feature in the five-part series“Fading Hunt,” on the difficulties and obstacles facing huntingand the hunting community in our modern world.

When Bryan Dinkins was a teenager and winter came,he piled into his grandfather’s car beforedawn and they headed out to huntducks. Morning crept up around them asthey huddled together in the cold,talking in a hush about life and school.

Then, his grandfather would leanover and whisper in his ear.“Here they come. Get ready,” he wouldsay, just as the ducks began to fly theirway.

Dinkins is 40 now. He hasn’t beenhunting in six years.

His grandfather passed away, andDinkins is busy. Besides, it would takehim six hours to drive somewhere tohunt ducks in California.

This is hunting in the new century,where urbanization and busy lives get inthe way. Hunting these days isn’t justwhen to go, but where to go? How much will it cost? And,more than ever, who will go?Across the country, the number of hunters declined bymore than 1 million from 1991 to 2001, or 7.3 percent,according to Census Bureau and U.S. Fish and WildlifeService. The drop was even greater in the West — 9.6percent.

Hunting has survived through generations by fatherspassing it on to their children. Families bonded duringhunting trips. Today, many people have given up onhunting, or never tried it at all.“If we think about how the country was explored anddeveloped, it was hunters, it was trappers,” said SteveWilliams, director of the Fish and Wildlife Service. “If welose that, I think in some way we lose part of the Americancharacter.”

No other area of the country has seen a populationboom like the West — a 5.2 percent jump from 2000 to2003. Despite that increase, the number of hunters in theWest, resident and nonresident, dropped by 236,000 inthe decade ending in 2001. California had the largest drop— 38.6 percent — followed by Colorado, Arizona andNevada. Washington, Hawaii, Oregon and Wyoming hadslight declines.

A majority of hunters said in the 2001 Census and Fishand Wildlife survey that they didn’t hunt as much as they

would have liked because they were too busy or had familyor work obligations. The reasons were the same for whypeople gave up hunting altogether, another study found.

But simply finding a place to hunt is a problem today,according to Mark Damian Duda, executive director of

Responsive Management, a nationalpublic opinion research firm for naturalresource issues. As the West becomesmore urban, with new residents flockingto cities like Las Vegas and Phoenix,development inevitably leads to fewerhunting lands.“A generation or so ago, it was stillpossible to take a son and daughter outto the country, knock on a farmer’s doorand be out in the field hunting in prettyshort order,” said George Cooper,spokesman for the Theodore RooseveltConservation Partnership.“That’s how young people got intohunting. Loss of habitat due to sprawland landowner worries about liabilityhave made that sort of old-fashionedaccess hard to come by.”

The West is full of public lands, but those who mustrely on private land or just prefer it often find these daysthey have to pay for the privilege. And it can be expensive;duck hunting for the season may cost $10,000 on a privatehunting preserve.

That means the wealthy have more access, and itshows in the survey figures. While the number of hunters isdown, they spent 29 percent more on trips and equipmentin 2001 than they did 10 years earlier.Tim Worley is one of those who still hunts, and when hetalks about hunting, the words are poetic. He’s beenhunting since his father took him when he was 8, and nowhe takes his 12-year-old daughter, Jessica. She just madeher first kill — a cinnamon teal hen.“I love that first hour of the morning when the sun’scoming up,” he said. “Everything’s alive. Everything’scoming to life. The birds start twittering, the littlesquirrels are running around. I just love being out there.”But Worley, 39, has an advantage in these crowded times.He lives in rural Smartsville, Calif., and a half-dozen huntingareas are within an hour’s drive.As the West’s population expands, urban sprawl overtakesmore habitat and hunters are too busy to go as much asthey’d like, it’ll be up to kids like Jessica Worley to carry onthe tradition.

A Responsive Management study found that ifpeople are not exposed to hunting before they are 16 or 17

’Fading Hunt’: Realities of the 21st centuryThursday, March 3, 2005

Updated: June 2, 6:27 PM ET

By Angie WagnerAssociated Press

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years old, they likely won’t hunt as adults. And the morepeople grow up in urban areas, Duda said, the less likelythey are to be exposed to the hunting culture.

“That’s the big, broad demographic trend that’staken its toll on hunting,” he said.

Many states are promoting hunting by sponsoringoutreach programs andyouth hunts, like the one inCalifornia where Worley tookhis daughter. Nevada wildlifeofficials are trying to recruitnew Las Vegas residents byproviding hunter informationsheets online that make iteasier to know where to huntand what to do.

“There’s a concertedeffort among state fish andwildlife agencies to recruitand retain new hunters,” saidWilliams, the Fish and WildlifeService director. “What welack in many places is justproviding that training andopportunity, and states are addressing that in ways thatthey never had in the past.”Agencies are also working more with private landownersto open up more areas to the public. Several states haveprograms allowing public access to some private lands.The Wyoming Game and Fish Department, for example,pays landowners small sums of money in exchange foropening their land to thepublic. Plus, the landownergets the benefit of lawenforcement.“If we really want to expandhabitat both in quantity andquality, we have got to reachout to private landowners,”Cooper said.

But agencies that fosterhunting face their own threats.Most depend on huntinglicense sales to manage fishand wildlife. As the number ofhunters drops, programs arecut and jobs are left unfilled.Even Alaska, the Western statethat logged the largest 10-year increase in hunters — 34.8percent — is paring down programs and leaving jobsvacant. There are more resident hunters in mostly ruralAlaska than out-of-staters, but they pay less for licenses.

The state is asking for its first license fee increasesince 1993, saying it needs $3.8 million a year more toprotect and expand hunting opportunities. Already, it hascut back on animal research and surveys that determinehow many animals can be killed without affectingpopulation survival.

Nevada also has trimmed surveys. It is leaving threewarden positions unfilled and had to cut its 2006-2007

budget by $1.5 million. In Arizona, fish and game officialsplan to ask the Legislature to raise caps on license fees.The states need the money, but worry about driving awayhunters.

“It’s always tricky to know what’s the tipping pointthat makes someone not want to put out the effort and

the money to come as far asAlaska to hunt,” said TomPaul, federal aid coordinatorfor Alaska’s Division ofWildlife.

California issuffering the worst. Thefish and game wardenstaff has been cut by 25percent over the lastfew years; budgets forwildlife managers havebeen slashed;maintenance is lacking.

Captures of bighorn sheep, deer and elk toput on radio tracking collarsfor research have been

scrapped.“We had counties where we didn’t even have

a warden present,” said Lorna Bernard, spokeswomanfor the California Department of Fish and Game. “It’sbeen really tough, especially on ourenforcement personnel.”

Hunting dropped 19.3 percent in Colorado, but thatstate, which boasts one of thelargest elk herds in NorthAmerica, also hosted the mosthunters in the West in 2001 —281,000. As a result, it hasmostly escaped the budgetwoes of other Western states.And a few western states evenrecorded an increase in hunternumbers, however small: NewMexico, Utah, Montana andIdaho.

It’s a delicate relationshipthat hunters and state agenciesshare. States depend on huntersto help fund their conservationprojects and to control animal

populations.“Traditionally, the people that have paid for and

cared for wildlife have been hunters and anglers,” saidSteve Huffaker, director of Idaho Fish and Game and pastpresident of the Western Association of Fish and WildlifeAgencies.

“If we lose that support base, then we’re concernedwho’s going to be there to take up the needs of fish andwildlife in the future.”Angie Wagner is the AP’s Western regional writer, based in LasVegas. Associated Press writer Bob Anez in Helena, Mont., alsocontributed to this story.

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ONCE again California Department of Fish and Gameofficers have responded to a bear incident by euthanizingthe animal. While sad, putting down this particularCalifornia black bear may have been necessary.

A frequent visitor to a familiarMonrovia back yard, the bearbecame entangled in a chain-link fence in the early morninghours of April 2.

Before state game wardenscould respond, the animalmanaged to severely injureitself, no doubt trying toextricate a hind foot from thefencing. A game warden saidthe bear had exposed boneand severed tendons and wastoo badly hurt to be treatedand returned to the wild.

However, residents of theMonrovia neighborhood often frequented by bears believeif the state agency had responded sooner, the bear couldhave perhaps been saved.

DFG officials blamed their more than two-hour delay ontoo few officers. We have to agree, 250 officers for theentire state is a ludicrous situation. The officer thatresponded did so from the west San Fernando Valley.

That’s not even adequate service. Because this area ofMonrovia is known for bear incursion, we believe DFGofficials ought to at least train local police or animal-control officers to tranquilize a wild animal while awaitingstate response. Naturally we’d rather see a gamewarden assigned exclusively to the front range of theAngeles National Forest so that he/she would be in closerproximity to this area that at one time had 12 so-called“resident bears.’

This incident is another prime example why this stretched-thin state agency needs a bigger budget to hire moreofficers. Just last month, we learned that the agency mustrely on veterinarians to inspect wild animal cages at animalsanctuaries. Also, Assemblyman Ed Chavez, D-Industry,has introduced a bill requiring the agency take a biggerrole in another area the captivity of exotic animals. Simplyput, this agency needs more funding before someone getshurt.

But we agree with the homeowner where the bear becameentangled that the state must create protocol forresidents’ response in such incidents. How should theyreact beyond calling for help? Perhaps the bear could havebeen tranquilized and freed by a trained vet.

The homeowner sat near thebear for hours, perhaps tocomfort it. She said she“knew’ the bear, that it hadoften played in a stream onthe property. Likely thatfamiliarity played into itsreturn and eventual demise.

Residents can help the causeby replacing spiked fencesthat can entrap thesecreatures or impale them orothers. At least two deer havedied this lingering death.

Also, residents in semiruralareas such as this should be careful not to leave pet foodoutside as it attracts smaller animals which may in turnlure larger predators; they should invest in locking trashcans.

Residents should retrieve fallen fruit on their property andkeep pets indoors at night as they are favored prey ofmountain lions.

Monrovians should contact their legislators to supportmore funding for additional wardens. Or why not appeal tothe city to fund a private “warden’ of their own to patrolthis near-remote area?

Yes, the people are the ones who have erred, living in suchclose proximity to wildlife habitat. They, not the animalsare the interlopers. But the people are there, and mosthave accepted the occasional bear dipping in backyardswimming pools and poaching avocados. One aging bruindubbed “Samson’ gained international fame for his nightlyhot-tub escapades and was relocated to the OrangeCounty Zoo.

No, we can’t save every wild animal that comes along ourcivilized byways. Generally speaking, lay people and wildthings don’t mix. But Samson’s legacy is that there arebetter ways than simply killing these occasional intruders.http://www.sgvtribune.com/Stories/0,1413,205~12238~2820269,00.html#

San Gabriel Valley Tribune

DFG officials blamed–too few officersSaturday, April 16, 2005

Warden with poached bear cub.

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Like a napping kitten curled into a ball,the 352-pound male tiger hung in a netbelow a hovering helicopter.

Shot and killed by federal wildlifeofficials, the tiger dangled aboveMiller Park in Moorpark, signifyingthe end of a three-week search forthe exotic cat.

The tiger chase and two other recentheadline-grabbing exotic-animal casesin California have exposed holes in asafety net of regulation that issupposed to protect both people andanimals.

”The safety, health and security needsof exotic animals in California have gonelargely ignored,” Assemblyman EdChavez, D-La Puente, wrote in a reportto the Legislature.

Ventura County has the fourth-largestnumber of exotic-animal permits in thestate. Inventories for the permits showVentura County is hometo more than 500 exotic animals —everything from lions to raccoons,alligators to eagles. California lawdoesn’t allow such animals to be ownedas pets; they can be owned forresearch, exhibiting or ifthey’re being housed in an approvedsanctuary.

Animal rights activists and legalowners of exotic animals say a lack ofstate oversight is partly to blame forthe recent deaths of exotic animalsand injuries to people. Among theircriticisms:

* The California Department of Fishand Game spends little time enforcingexotic-animal laws, and state gamewardens don’t have the resources toseize abused or dangerous animals.

State’s regulation of exotic animals comes under fire

Tiger shooting, 2 other cases getlawmakers, critics talking

By Michelle L. Klampe,mklampe@VenturaCountyStar.com

April 24, 2005inspections that should be handled bystate Fish and Game wardens orcontract veterinarians.

”The result of this weak oversight hasbeen threats to human life and untoldand unknown loss of life to exoticanimals that have been improperlycared for, bred and housed,” Chavez,chairman of the Assembly Committeeon Arts, Entertainment, Sports,Tourism and Internet Media, wroteafter a hearing in March.

State Fish and Game officials say mostexotic-animal owners have valid permitsand are handling their creaturesproperly, but they agree the regulationscould be improved.

”There are some places that fall throughthe cracks,” said Steve Martarano, aspokesman for Fish and Game.

A public safety issue

In late January, Gert “Abby” and Roena“Emma” Hedengran moved theircollection of more than 20 exotic catsfrom Temecula to an unapprovedproperty in the Tierra Rejada Valley.State and federal officials believe a tigerowned by the couple escaped during

the move. A tiger was shot threeweeks later when federal gameofficials tracked it toMiller Park.

During a 2003 raid of a tigersanctuary in Riverside County, Fishand Game officers discoveredimproperly caged tigers, leopardsand alligators. Some were being heldin a house where a child was living.

Also found on the propertywere dozens of rotting tigercarcasses and dozens ofdead cubs being stored in afreezer.

VenturaCountyStar.com

* Penalties for violating state exotic-animal laws are not stiff enough todeter owners of illegal animals.

* Fish and Game officers don’tadequately communicate with local lawenforcement and animal controlofficials.

* Private veterinarians employed byanimal owners are conducting

Another tiger carcass found at Weinhart’s home,with ropes binding the animal’s legs.

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In February, sanctuary operator JohnWeinhart was convicted of 56 felonycharges, including child endangermentand animal cruelty.

In early March, aLos Angeles-areaman was savagelyattacked andcritically injured bytwo chimpanzeesduring a visit to aBakersfield animalsanctuary. The man,St. James Davis, lostmost of his face,several fingersand a foot in theattack andremainsunconscious. Hiswife lost a finger.

The chimps wereshot and killed;two othersescaped from thesanctuary forseveral hoursbefore beingrecaptured.

Assemblywoman Audra Strickland,who lives a mile from where the tigerwas killed in Moorpark, proposedlegislation to correct some of theproblems with the state law.

”That whole incident shed light onsome of the inadequacies in the code,”said Strickland, a Republican. “My goalis to make sure something like thisdoesn’t happen again. This is, at itscore, a public safety issue.”

Her bill, AB820, would require ownersto immediately report missing exoticanimals to local law enforcementauthorities; require tattooing ormicrochipping of each animal so it canbe easily identified; prohibit localveterinarians from conducting stateinspections of animal facilities if theveterinarian works for the animalowner, and increase penaltiesassociated with violating state wildanimal laws.

Communication lacking

California already has some of thestrongest animal protection laws inthe country. Legal ownership of anexotic animal in Ventura Countyrequires approval from federal, stateand local government agencies, and

the laws make it virtually impossible toown one as a pet.

But the agencies rarely cross-checktheir permits witheach other.

Exotic-animalowners mustshow proof ofvalid federal andstate permits toobtain a countyconditional usepermit, but stateand federalagencies don’tshare or comparetheir licenseswith localofficials.

”When (exotic-animal owners)get a newlocation, they’resupposed to tellFish and Game,”said Pat Richards,a county PlanningDivision manager.

“Fish and Game has never told us whensomeone has moved here.”

County Animal Regulation licensesexotic animals. The information isespecially helpful during fire season,when animals in rural areas may needevacuation, said Director Kathy Jenks.The agency has never checked itslicenses against state or federal lists,however.

”Fish and Game has never provided thatinformation to us,” she said. ”Theyshould provide it to us, and so shouldthe U.S. Department of Agriculture.”

Prosecutions not toppriority

Usually, scofflaws are reported byother exotic-animal owners, or byrepairmen and meter readers whostumble on exotic animals in back yards.When violations are discovered, ownersare generally given a period of time tofix the problems. If the problemspersist, or pose athreat to public safety or the animal’shealth, an investigation is launched.

Federal officials can fine owners up to$2,750 per violation, per day. Theagency also can revoke licenses andconfiscate animals.

State wardens can issue civil finesstarting at $500. Any criminal chargeswould be considered misdemeanors.Once an investigation is completed, thecase goes to a local district attorney’soffice for possible prosecution.

Animal cases can be a tough sell fordistrict attorneys concerned withprosecuting crimes against people.“Wildlife cases are often overlooked inthe judicial system,” Martarano said.

Last week, the Kern County DistrictAttorney’s Office announced it wouldnot prosecute the owners of thesanctuary where the chimp attackoccurred, even though the Kern CountySheriff’s Department believedmisdemeanor charges were warrantedbecause two of the chimps’ three cagedoors were left open and unlocked.

District Attorney Edward Jagels saidthe sanctuary owners had no way ofknowing the animals had learned tounlock the third door.

”It is not a criminal offense to fail tolock an empty cage adjacent to alocked cage where animals were kept,”Jagels said. “If there had been anyindication of negligence, I would havehandled it differently.”

Since 1998, the state has taken legalaction against 87 exotic-animal ownersin Southern California, Martarano said.Just four of those came in the last twoyears.

State budget cuts also are hurtinginspection and enforcement,Martarano said. Fish and Game lost

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25 percent of its wardens during atwo-year hiring freeze. The agencynow has 300 wardens, with about250 working in the field. Their jobis to enforce all Fish and Gamelaws, including hunting and fishingregulations.

”Restricted species aren’t the highestpriority,” Martarano said.

Rarely will state officials seize animals,in part because they don’t have trucksto transport or cages to house them.When animals are taken, they usuallygo to an animal shelter or licensedsanctuary.

Most of the Hedengrans’ animalsended up at the county Animal Shelterbefore they were moved to Nevadaearlier this month. During a fire oneyear, the shelter held 30 wolves for theowner, whose property wasthreatened.

”Most of the things we get are thelittle things, like ferrets,” Jenks said.“People are idiots. They have animalsthey have no business having in areasthey have no business having them.”

The Hedengrans move in

The Hedengrans moved to VenturaCounty in late January, apparently afterlosing their home in Riverside County.The couple had state and federalpermits to house up to 30 exotic catson the Temecula property.

But their rented property on LapeyreRoad near Moorpark wasn’t zoned forexotic animals. Some of the animalsroamed freely inside the double-widemobile home, while others were cagedon the porch or in a shed.

The couple didn’t notify theDepartment of Fish and Game abouttheir relocation, and the Lapeyre Roadproperty was never inspected by theDepartment of Agriculture.

State and federal officials believe thetiger and a 90-pound lynx escapedduring the move. The Hedengransnotified no one of the animals’ escape.Neighbors spotted the lynx on theirporch; the animal was tranquilized andcaptured by Fish and Game wardens.

Around the same time, nearby residentsbegan calling county Supervisor JudyMikels’ office and county AnimalRegulation officers to complain about

the animals. County code enforcementofficers cited property owner ChuckCarmichael for failing to obtain aconditional use permit.

On Feb. 3, authorities received their firstreports of a tiger sighting nearMoorpark. That same day, a statewarden contacted the Hedengrans

about the lynx. The couple claimed theanimal, but made no mention of amissing tiger, according to a federalcriminal complaint filed against theHedengrans.

State wardens inspected the propertyand found a number of violations,including unsafe caging. TheHedengrans were given 72 hours to fixthe problems or move the animals toanother location.

”I can’t say there was no public safetythreat, but the animals were beingpretty closely monitored,” saidMartarano of Fish and Game. “We feltwe had the situation under control.”

Three days later, wildlife authoritiesreturned to the property, and theanimals were gone.

By then, several people had reportedtiger sightings or found large footprintsauthorities suspected belonged to a400- to 800-pound tiger.

Though state and federal lawenforcement officers asked theHedengrans repeatedly if the tiger wastheirs, they denied owning the animal. InMarch, the Hedengrans were arrestedon federal charges after lawenforcement officers concluded thecouple owned the tiger named Tuffy.

New legislation

Shortly after the Hedengrans’ tigerwas killed, freshman lawmakerStrickland formed an alliance with theAnimal Protection Institute to draftnew legislation governing exoticanimals.

API, an animal rights group based inSacramento, is a sponsor ofStrickland’s legislation. The bill passedthe Assembly JudiciaryCommittee on Tuesday.

The organization has a history ofbattles with Fish and Game overenforcement of exotic-animal laws,particularly the agency’s failure toinspect exotic-animal facilities. Theagency inspected only 14 of 338 exoticanimal owners in 2004, according toFish and Game data. The remainderwere inspected by privateveterinarians employed by the animals’owners.

API believes such inspections pose aninherent conflict of interest and sued in2001 to force Fish and Game to changeits policy. The suit was settled in 2002,but a new inspection policy is stillbeing developed. Strickland’s billrequires Fish and Game to startinspecting all facilities by March 2006,or have the new system set up by then.

”It’s a very slow process,” said NicolePaquette, an attorney for theinstitute. “If these facilities were beingproperly inspected, I think that wouldgo a long way toward protectinganimals’ welfare.”

The legislation also calls for morestringent reporting requirements whenexotic-animal owners acquire a newanimal or an animal dies. They hopethe new requirements, including themicrochips, will help state officialskeep track of exotic animals.

”Right now, Fish and Game has no wayto know how many animals there are,”Paquette said.

Martarano, the Fish and Gamespokesman, said his agency wouldsupport efforts to better trackanimals.

’They reflect on all of us’

A coalition of about 60 exotic-animalowners opposes some of Strickland’sproposals. The newly formed group,

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known as the International AnimalWelfare Alliance, would rather see stateofficials improve enforcement ofexisting laws.

”One of our proposals was that (stateofficials) raise our fees so they could dobetter enforcement,” said alliance VicePresident Jim Brockett. “It’s certainlynot something that needs morelegislation.”

He and his wife operate Brockett’s FilmFauna from a ranch near ThousandOaks. The couple’s collection of exoticanimals includes alligators, crocodiles,bobcats and lynxes.

Brockett worries the new legislationwould add unnecessary paperwork forhis business and that illegal owners willcontinue to disregard the law despitethe changes.

”Most of the problems are with peoplewho are illegal,” he said. ”Unfortunately,they reflect on all of us.”

His biggest concern is the microchips,because the health risks are too highand the chips unreliable because theycan move through an animal’s body.

”Every time you anesthetize ananimal, you risk killing it,” he said.”Why would you anesthetize ananimal unnecessarily?”

An amendment to Strickland’s billWednesday allows owners toidentify their animals other ways if aveterinarian determinesmicrochipping or tattooing wouldpose an unnecessary risk. In thosecases, photos of unique marks orfeatures could be used.

The amended bill also requires ownersto put up cash or a bond if the animal isseized for violations. The bond wouldcover 30 days’ care, including medicalcare and feeding. If the permit-holderhasn’t claimed the animal after 30 days,the state could dispose of the animalunless the owner put up another bond.

Local law enforcement or animalcontrol officers would be allowed toenforce the Fish and Game code underanother amendment made Wednesday.

”That’s a typical Sacramentoresponse,” said Jenks, the countyAnimal Regulation director.

”What it is is passing the buck. Thepublic will then expect the counties todo it. But they’re not mandating (thatcounties do it) so they don’t have topay for it.”

Counties, she said, can’t afford toenforce the law either, especially giventhe budget cuts they’ve faced in recentyears.

Charlie Sammut, president of thealliance, wants to work with Stricklandon the bill so his group can support itinstead of fight it.

”I’m hoping ... to help edit thelegislation so that it doesn’t hurtpeople who are doing it right,” saidSammut, who owns Wild Things AnimalRentals and the Vision Quest Ranch inMonterey.

Members of the coalition havescheduled a meeting with Strickland todiscuss the bill.

From his Ventura County ranch nearFrazier Park, Steve Martin trains andrents lions, tigers, monkeys and otherexotic animals to work in the movie and

television industry. He doesn’t want hisbusiness or his animals harmedbecause others insist on breaking thelaw.

”People who come in with illegalanimals, when they get in trouble, itaffects us, the people who are tryingto do it right,” Martin said.

”All of a sudden, they’re going to passnew laws, but we’re doing it legal. It’svery, very unfair.”

2005 © The E.W. Scripps Co. VenturaCounty Star

State of the art patrol boat Marlin keeps a watchful eye on Game Wardenschecking the catch of a sportfishing boat off the coast of San Francisco.

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Game wardens deserve paritywith chp

Since 1979, statistically, for every CHP officer that hasbeen killed, 1.8 Wardens have been killed.

Since 1979, statistically, compared to CDC CorrectionalOfficers, Wardens are sixty-one (61) times more likely tobe killed on duty.

For the entire history of Fish & Game Wardens; 57% ofthose killed in the line of duty were killed by gunfire.

For the entire history of CHP; 19% of those killed in theline of duty were killed by gunfire.

For the entire history of the Department of Corrections;12% of those killed in the line of duty were killed bygunfire.

Bottom line: Wardens are nearly twice as likely to bekilled in their career than a CHP officer, and three moretimes likely to be killed by gunfire.

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Dumping isn’t just an eyesore. It can hurt theenvironment and affect humans, too.

Animals nibble on unhealthy garbage and get caughtin box springs or other materials.

Illegal dumps can serve as breeding grounds forinsects, rodents and other pests. For example, old tiresfilled with stagnant water might allow thousands ofmosquitoes to hatch.

Batteries contain heavymetals that can leach intothe soil and into the water.Picture tubes from televisionsand computers containleaded glass, which can posea biological hazard to humansand wildlife. Dumped paintcan cause lead poisoning.

Materials like asbestoscould be harmful for thosewho inhale the air.

Dumping can pose a firehazard, or cause flooding ifdebris obstructs normalrunoff.

Abandoned refrigeratorsor freezers might attractchildren looking for a place toplay.

Dumping encourages owners of large, privateproperties to restrict public use of their land.

Ugh. Another refrigerator.Those are the worst, says Bill Kuntz. He steps around

the fridge, which someone has dumped facedown in anemerald-green meadow.

Workers will have to lug it away. And when they do,look out — rotten food could spill and stink up this scenicspot off Walker Mine Road northwest of Redding.Kuntz knows the stench all too well.

“You just about pass out,” he says.Any other day, Kuntz, an outdoor-recreation planner forthe Bureau of Land Management, might be working on amore pleasant project — a trail extension, perhaps.

But on this sunny April morning, he’s visiting just a fewof the countless hidden, illegal trash dumps thatpockmark Shasta County’s landscape like pimples onpeaches-and-cream skin.

Fly-by-night dumping has been a headachethroughout the north state as long as anyone canremember. But as Shasta County grows, the dumpingmight be growing worse.

This Earth Day weekend, officials are promising towork harder to prosecute the litterbugs. Two easternShasta County residents recently were convicted ondumping charges.

Spaces of waste

Down in the dumpsAlex Breitler

Published: April 24, 2005 in News

It used to be a beer can here, a beercan there, said state Department of Fishand Game Warden Ken Taylor, whopatrols the Burney area.

Now it’s truckloads of garbage.“You’d think local people wouldn’t

do that,” he said. “I don’t know how tosay this, but people are justmessing in their own nest.”

‘Sick and tired’It’s a queasy drive down

Walker Mine Road, east ofKeswick Lake. Kuntz’s four-wheel-drive truck rides therutted road like a ship on astormy sea.

“Tough and rough,” Kuntzcalls it. And that’s just theway the BLM wants it abumpy road might deterdumping out here.

But not this time. SoonKuntz drives up to a shootingarea and spots a fresh pile oftrash, a torn mattress and acouch missing one arm.

Just about six weeks earlier, BLM crews towed awaytwo truckloads of trash from the same spot.Whoever dumped the latest junk probably could havehauled it to the dump for no more than $30. Now thepublic will pick up the tab instead. Counting manpowerand equipment, it might cost up to $1,000, Kuntz said.

Moments later, BLM law enforcement officer PatrickHagan rolls up in his own rig. He hops out, pulls on hisleather gloves and starts rifling through the refuse.He seeks an envelope. A discarded phone bill. Anythingthat might identify the dumper.

No luck. Like most offenders, this one won’t becaught.

Hagan doesn’t enjoy going through someone else’sgarbage. He gets hepatitis shots to make sure theoccasional prick from a discarded needle or syringedoesn’t make him sick.

“I don’t think a lot of people are malicious,” he says.“They just don’t think.”

Gary Wells isn’t as forgiving. The Shasta Lake residentdrives up to go shooting and angrily asks the BLM officersabout the garbage.

Most shooters obey the law, Wells says, packing outothers’ trash and even searching for clues themselves.“I’m sick and tired of this,” he says. “How much does itcost the BLM to clean this crap up?”

Ken Taylor

Dumping isn’t just an eyesore. It can hurt the environmentand affect humans, too.

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Cracking downA message someone scrawled on the trashed

mattress puts it even more bluntly: “Take your (expletive)to the dump, ya damn dummies.”

That’s what Kathryn Joseph wassupposed to do.According to Fish and Game reports, shelived with a man named Pat Garcia, whowas paid $120 to haul someone else’strash to the dump in August. Instead,warden Jake Bushey found it piled onprivate timberland near Burney.He traced the trash back to its owner,then to Garcia, and finally to Joseph. Sheadmitted to dumping it, saying shedidn’t have the money to pay landfillfees and had planned to retrieve thedebris later.

Much later, apparently. It had lain out in the woods fora month before the warden discovered it.On March 18, Joseph, 51, pleaded no contest to illegaldumping and got three years’ probation, a $1,500 fine and40 hours of community service. She could not be reachedfor comment.

James Miguel, 33, faced similar charges. Garbagefound in the woods late last year was linked to Miguel’shome in Cassel. When another Fish and Game warden wentto confront him, Miguel’s wife told the warden she didn’tthink her husband would do such a thing.Then the warden produced a photo that he’d found in therubbish.

“That’s my daughter,” Miguel’s wife said, according toreports.

Miguel, owner of Shasta HVAC & Sheet Metal Worksin Cassel, pleaded guilty on March 9 and got a $1,000 finein addition to 24 hours of community service. In atelephone interview last week, he said his truck had brokendown in the woods and that he dumped the garbage,returning the next day to pick it up.

He later learned he was under investigation.“I didn’t have any intention at all of leaving it there,”

Miguel said. “I go out in the woods hunting all the time,and I’m always picking up garbage.”

A tradition?Are fees at the dump really a deterrent to legal

disposal? Back near Redding, Kuntz says he thinksdumping is a way of life for some folks. Their parents did it.They do it.

“Culture, tradition whatever it is,” Kuntz says.He drives to a spot just off Buenaventura Boulevard in westRedding. Here, just several hundred yards from the fancyStanford Hills subdivision, is a 3-acre garbage field hiddenby manzanita.

A dozen computer monitors, grouped together in anoddly organized fashion. Six rusted propane tanks. Aportable toilet on its side.

Smaller stuff, too. CD jewel cases. A baby’s highchair.A stuffed bunny.

This is private land. Like many absentee landowners,the owners of this property might have no idea what’sgoing on.

Those who do find out there’s a dump on their landcould be out of luck. The BLM and other agencies “can’ttake care of everybody,” Kuntz says.

“We don’t have the time, and we don’t have themoney,” he says.

Searching for answersSheriff’s officials got 150 calls about dumping in 2003,

yet only five culminated in written reports. The Sheriff’sDepartment responds to in-progress calls, but it’s difficultto catch anyone, Capt. Tom Bosenko told countysupervisors in a meeting last year.

The dumpers’ handiwork is everywhere.Three hundred tires showed up overnight in Clear Creek.Cars have been dunked into Keswick and Whiskeytownlakes. Rugged lava craters in the east county have beentransformed into junkyards.

A spot beneath the Placer Street Bridge over ClearCreek was nicknamed “Shopping Cart Falls” by disgruntledkayakers. Evidently, dumpers got a thrill out of pitchingheavy appliances off the bridge in the middle of the night.What’s to be done?

County officials held a series of meetings in recentmonths and discussed applying for a major cleanup grantfrom the state’s Integrated Waste Management Board.

Earlier this year, the board announced $500,000 ingrants for the cities of Sacramento and Barstow toobliterate scores of dump sites.

Getting such a grant here might allow the county tostart “with a clean slate,” said District Attorney JerryBenito.

Officials also are considering a reward system thatwould free up 50 percent of the fine money for those whoturn in the dumpers.

“The fines can be very steep,” Benito said, up to$10,000 under state law for extreme cases.

The county has erected fences along Dersch, Rhondaand Clear Creek roads to try to dissuade dumpers. It alsohad dug trenches on spur roads to keep vehicles out.

But with as much open space as Shasta County has,there’s no way to secure every side road, every open field.

Taylor, of Fish and Game, who grew up in Burney andgraduated from Fall River High School in 1962, releasedphotos of dumps hoping the public would become“outraged and disgusted.” Since news broke of the recentprosecutions, more reports have been coming in.

“This has become so commonplace,” he said. “Atremendous amount of people are doing it.”

Kuntz returns to his Redding office after spendingseveral hours checking dumpsites. He could’ve spent anentire year. After all, as soon as one site is eradicated,another springs up somewhere else.

You can argue about landfill fees, culture andtradition, but in the end it might come down to one thing:

“There are people out there who just don’t care,” hesays.Reporter Alex Breitler can be reached at 225-8344 or atabreitler@redding.com.

Jake Bushey, Sr.

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Thank you TerryTamminen.

It’s fantastic to be herewith all of you, and I want to

thank you for coming to California for the United NationsWorld Environment Day conference.

I want to thank Mayor Gavin Newsom and the City ofSan Francisco for hosting this conference and for bringingtrue leadership to the environmental movement.

I’m very happy to join you atthis conference because I havealways been a huge supporter ofthe environment.

Growing up in Austria, I wassurrounded by clean air, crystalclear streams and lakes,magnificent mountains and muchmore.

And I found all this beauty alsowhen I came to California. In fact,I’m like so many people whoimmigrated here. I came for theopportunity and stayed for thebeauty.

And today here inCalifornia we continue to doeverything it takes toprotect our environment andkeep that beauty.

Because ourenvironmental heritage isjust as strong and importantas our legacy of opportunity.

Last year I traveled to Japan, astrong economic partner with ourstate. The interesting thing waswhen I met with Prime MinisterKoizumi, the first issue he wantedto talk about was the impact all ofus have had on our environmentand now it’s impact on us. And hesaid we have done so much damagefor so long that if we don’t begin toreverse it now it will be too late.

Like all of you I look at theindustrial societies that humankindhas created over the past century the great upwardmovement of civilization.

But at the same time we ask ourselves what have wedone to this world in the process?

Over generations we have developed the ability tomake people’s lives more comfortable and createunbelievable opportunities for so many people.

But the march of progress has not come without

consequences. For example, on the one hand thanks toinnovation, technology, and discovery we have the abilityto cure disease and help people live longer. And yet, on theother hand our impact on the environment has createdgreat threats to public health and cut people’s livesshorter.

We believe in progress in moving forward to the nextbold discovery. But here is one area where we should turnthe clock back so we can once again

* Drink water from the faucetwithout giving it a secondthought.* Watch our children play outsidewithout struggling to breathe orusing an inhaler.* And look out and see not onlythe structures built by humans,but the mountain ranges thatstand far behind them.

And that is why, when Icame into office, when I becameGovernor of California, Iestablished anEnvironmental Action Plan tostrengthen our commitment andlead the way in meeting newenvironmental challenges.Like for instance we created the25 million acre Sierra NevadaConservancy, the largest in thenation.

We opened the path to aHydrogen Highway and startedbuilding hydrogen fueling stations.We sponsored the first OceanProtection Act in the nation toprotect and restore our oceanresources.

We put more money intoour program to replace dirty dieseltrucks with clean alternative fuels.We put the biggest user ofelectricity in California stategovernment on an energy diet withour Green Building Initiative to saveover 20 percent of the electricity

and water we use in our facilities.And now I want to keep the momentum going. As of

today California is going to be the leader in the fightagainst global warming.

In a moment I am going to sign Executive OrderNumber S-3-05 to establish clear and ambitious goals toreduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions in our state.

By the year 2010 our goal is to reduce our emissions

Governor’s Remarks at WorldEnvironment Day Conference

Wednesday, 06/01/2005 03:00 pm

There are currently 192 Game Wardens forthe entire State of California which has 36million people. In 2006, there was only oneWarden for every 187,500 persons inCalifornia.

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to less than those we produced in 2000.By 2020 the goal will be to make our emissions lower

than 1990 levels.And by 2050 our goal is to reduce overall emissions a

full 80 percent below those we produced in 1990.I say the debate is over. We know the science. We see

the threat. And we know the time for action is now.Global warming and thepollution and burning offossil fuels that cause itare threats we see here inCalifornia and everywherearound the world.

These pollutantsblanket the globetrapping heat andcreating the “greenhouse”effect the warming of theearth’s atmosphere.

And all of thisimpacts our water supply,public health, agriculture,coastlines, forestry, andmuch more.

We have no choicebut to meet thischallenge.

It is not enough to bethe caretaker of the world we have been given. We mustleave a better world for our children and their children.

In decades past when we brought this damage to theworld around us we didn’t know any better. That was ourmistake.

But now we do knowbetter. And if we do not dosomething about it that willbe our injustice.So we will take the next bigstep here in California andmobilize with an aggressiveplan to reduce greenhousegas emissions.

We will fully implementCalifornia’s landmarkGreenhouse Gas Law whichrequires cleaner burningvehicles to be sold in ourstate starting in 2009.We are going to acceleratethe timetable to get moreenergy from renewablesources 20 percent by 2010and a third by 2020.

These sources include solar, wind, geothermal, andbiomass from agriculture and other waste.We will continue to push my initiative to have one millionsolar powered homes and buildings in California to saveenergy and reduce pollution.

We are greening the state’s fleet of governmentvehicles, all 70,000 of them, to be the most fuel-efficientin the world.

I am also recruiting businesses up and down the stateto reduce their greenhouse gas emissions because it makessense for our environment and our economy.Pollution reduction has long been proven to be a money-saver for businesses. It lowers operating costs raisesprofits and creates new and expanded markets forenvironmental technology.

I am very happythat in nearby SiliconValley dozens ofcompanies havecommitted to reducingtheir emissions evenfaster than thestatewide goals.

So I am very proudof California’s leadershipin the fight againstglobal warming. Animportant part of thatgreat leadership is ourState Legislature and Ilook forward to workingclosely with them toachieve these new goals.

And I challengeeveryone to match ourcommitment because I

see California as an environmental partner not only withour nation but with nations everywhere.The world we live in and what we do to the land, air andwater affects all of us.

John Muir a Scottish immigrant who launchedAmerica’s conservationmovement right here inCalifornia once said “Whenone tugs at a single thing innature he finds it attachedto the rest of the world.”

I ask citizens andgovernments everywhere todo their part by conservingenergy and reducing the useof fossil fuels for the goodof the world community.This is our duty to thosewho share this world withus and to those who followus:

Wherever we see athreat to ourenvironment we must

take action.And I know that by working together we

can meet the needs of our economy and ourenvironment and make this Earth a place ofbeauty and opportunity for future generations.Thank you. And now I will sign the Executive Order.

Seizure of trophy antlers from illegally killed elk, Kern County

Public awareness grows. “It is not enough to be the caretakerof the world we have been given. We must leave a better worldfor our children and their children.”

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Governor Slashes Salmon andSteelhead Restoration Budget

On July 1, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger proudlyproclaimed July to be “California Wild King Salmon” month.

“During July, we celebrate California Wild King SalmonMonth to raise awareness about this locally caught fish,”said theGovernor. “It isalso a time toconsider thevaluable roleof the salmonindustry infortifying thehealth andeconomicprosperity ofCalifornia.”

Yet ironically,just 10 dayslater, theGovernorslashed thebudget forsalmon andsteelheadconservationandrestorationgrants by half- $ 4 million out of $8 million, according to AssemblySpeaker Fabian Nunez.

By slashing these and other programs out of the CaliforniaDepartment of Fish and Game budget, fishermen, huntersand environmentalists have joined a growing chorus ofteachers, firefighters and police officers in opposition toSchwarzenegger’s policies.

The impact of the cut to salmon and steelhead restorationis much worse than just the state money lost because thefunds would have matched anticipated federal funding.About $13 million in federal funds have been providedannually over the last several years for this program.

In order to leverage federal funds, the State is required toprovide at least a 25 percent match. Failure to providematching funds would result in a loss of federal funds forfisheries restoration grants. The cuts will dramatically hurteducation projects, on-the-ground restoration work, andfield surveys conducted by the department.

Governor Slashes Salmon andSteelhead Restoration Budget

July 29, 2005By Dan Bacher

The $4 million cut in salmon and steelhead restorationfunds was just part of the $14,000,000 from the DFGbudget that Schwarzenegger cut through a line item vetoon July 11, according to Zeke Grader, executive director ofthe Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations,in a press conference of outdoor enthusiasts convened by

Nunez atDiscovery Parkin Sacramento.

“TheGovernor’socean plan andplans for theKlamath Riverareencouraging,”said Grader.“However, indeclaring Julysalmon monthand thencutting theDFG budget,the Governor istalking the talkbut notwalking thewalk!”

As anglerstrolled for salmon at the junction of the Sacramento andAmerican Rivers on July 25, recreational anglers,commercial fishermen, hunters and environmentalistsgathered to disclose the hardships that the Governor’sbudget cuts would cause to Fish and Game programs inCalifornia. They asked him to reconsider the cuts to DFG inthe 2005-06 California State Budget in light of thetremendous environmental harm that they would cause.

Besides threatening salmon and steelhead restoration, theGovernor axed $3 million for new fish and game wardens.This will cut fish and game wardens to per-1960 levels,putting the state’s fish and wildlife in jeopardy.

“My dad was a game warden,” said Bob Orange of theCalifornia Game Wardens Association. “California hadmore game wardens in 1953 than it does now.”

The budget cuts also included a $1 million cut from theDepartment’s native trout program. This will keep theprogram at 1980 levels, endangering the state’s native and

The “Outlet Hole” on the Feather River near Oroville; where tempers flare and poachingflourishes during the salmon run.

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heritage troutlegacies, includingthe golden trout,California’s statefish.

In addition, theGovernor cut $3million from thealreadybeleaguered statefish hatcherysystem.“The DFG hasbeen cut to thebone after manyyears of neglect,”said Brad Willis,

the representative of SEIU Local 100 and Friends ofCalifornia Hatcheries, “The Department is now talking ofclosing hatcheries and making cuts to programs thatcannot afford to be cut. These cuts will devastate manysmall businesses in the rural parts of our state, who rely onfishing tourism for their economic base.”

Jim Martin, West Coast Regional Director of theRecreational Fishing Alliance, emphasized that recreationalanglers provide over $50 million in license fees andcontribute $5 billion to the state’s economy each year.“Without fishermen, California loses most of its fundingfor habitat and biodiversity,” said Martin. “The Governor isplaying with fire when he cuts support for hatcheries andwardens while he funds gimmicks like no-fishing zones inthe ocean.”

Bob Strickland, president of United Anglers of California,pointed out that budget cuts don’t affect just hunters andfishermen - they impact the natural resources ofeverybody who lives in California.

“There is only 1 warden for every half million acres inCalifornia- this is ridiculous,” said Strickland. “If we don’tdo anything about stopping poaching and habitatdestruction, nothing will be left for our children andgrandchildren. We need to tell the Governor that he needsto protect our national resources by not cutting the DFGbudget!”

The cuts couldn’t come at a worse time - when a team ofstate and federal scientists is documenting the collapse ofthe Delta food chain. Meanwhile, the state and federalgovernments are pushing for a massive increase in waterexports from the Delta to the west side of the San JoaquinValley and southern California.

“Over the past several decades, we have been witness tomassive declines of salmon, steelhead, striped bass andmany other species,” stated Jim Crenshaw, president ofthe California Sportfishing Protection Alliance. “Given the

cuts made by the Governor, I can’t imagine how theDFG can turn this around, much less restore ourendangered species and the collapsing Deltaecosystem.”

Other groups opposing the Governor’s budgetcuts include the California Striped BassAssociation, Trout Unlimited, Federation of FlyFishers, Defenders of Wildlife, California Mule-DeerAssociation and California Quail HuntersAssociation

CALIFORNIA FISH & GAMEWARDENS ASSOCIATION

(CFGWA)

Established 1922. It was founded byWardens eighty-four years ago whosaw the need for an employees’association. CFGWA representsWardens in the State of California.The CFGWA actively monitors andinvolves itself in legislation thateither positively or negativelyimpacts the environment, wildlife,fisheries, peace officers and /orgame wardens. CFGWA works inconjunction with CAUSE-StatewideLaw Enforcement Association.CFGWA produces a quarterlynewsletter, The Green Line.

Game wardens are called upon to solve many public safetyincidents involving wild animals most commonly bears,cougars and coyotes in California.

Salmon is a multi-million dollar industrywhich is regulated by Game Wardens.

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Like a blade slicingthrough the belly of ajust-caught rainbowtrout, Gov. ArnoldSchwarzenegger lastweek took anotherstab at theDepartment of Fishand Game — only thistime, his line-itembudget vetoes didn’tcut the waste, theytook the guts right outof vital DFG programs.

In the waning hours of the budget process,Schwarzenegger removed $9 million that would have putsome 50 game wardens into the field, stocked waterwaysfrom San Diego to Copco with hatchery-raised trout andhelped protect the state’s 11 species of native trout.

The DFG’s final budget called for $5 million for wardens, $3million for the state’s trout hatchery program and $1million for the DFG’s Wild TroutHeritage Program, which covers waterslike Hat Creek and the upperSacramento River above Cantara Loop.

Gone, gone and gone.

Outdoor enthusiasts and watchdoggroups gathered Monday at DiscoveryPark on the American River — nearlyshouting distance from the statecapitol — to call on Schwarzeneggerto reconsider the line-item cuts to theDFG budget.

“My father was a warden;California had more wardens in1953 than it does today,” saidCalifornia Game WardenAssociation’s Bob Orange.

Schwarzenegger’s cuts will assure warden levels will remaindrastically low— and in line with what they were in 1960.With many wardens taking early retirement in 2004, thestate now has some 200 wardens to patrol the state’s36.5 million population. That’s one warden to every182,500 residents. In 1960, the state’s population was 15.9million, or one warden for every 79,500 people. Bigdifference.

One of the first things DFG directorRyan Broddrick did when he wasappointed last year was to change thewarden’s chain of command structure,so now all parts of the state havesome warden protection. During theBob Hight years, seven rural countieshad no warden presence.

Still, 50 new wardens would have beenthe “eyes and ears on the ground”Broddrick promised when headdressed a room full of outdoorwriters in Yosemite National Park lastyear.

Hatcheries didn’t fare much better.

“Many anglers voted for GovernorSchwarzenegger because we hoped wewould have a friend in a fellowsportsman,” said Jim Martin, WestCoast Regional Director of theRecreational Fishing Alliance. “Weexpected him to support fish hatcheriesand provide enough game wardens toprotect our natural resources.

Recreational anglers provide over $50million in license fees and contribute $5billion to the state’s economy each year.“Without fishermen, California losesmost of its funding for habitat andbiodiversity.”

As I mentioned last week, the 2004-2005 budget for hatcheries was $8.8million; next year’s proposed budget

BUDGET ISSUES FOR FISH AND GAME:

Schwarzenegger’s line-items cutsfurther weaken the DFG

Redding Record-Searchlight – 7/31/05By Thom Gabrukiewicz, Outside columnist

Ryan Broddrick

Bob Orange

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Son, don’t be aGame Warden

was to be $1.2 million less. A cut of $3 million to the statehatchery program likely will lead to the closure of somehatcheries — whether or not you’ve answered Broddrick’scall to help streamline the efficiency of the hatcherysystem.

The state’s 11 species of trout also will suffer underSchwarzenegger’s line-item dagger. The $1 million he cutwill ensure the Native Trout Program stays funded at 1980levels — which will endanger further the state’s nativetrout, including the golden (the state fish, for crying outloud), the cutthroat and the north state’s own redband.When Schwarzenegger took office, part of his governingagenda was an Environmental Action Plan. Included in thetext of that plan was this:

“Protect California’s environment through toughenforcement of existing laws. Schwarzenegger said he willensure that California government is held accountable forenvironmental protection to the same extent as privateparties.”

As anglers and sportsmen, let’s hold Schwarzeneggerresponsible for these horrendous budget cuts. Don’t gutDFG programs — and the warden staff — that actually dosomething for the sportsman.

Son, don’t be aGame Warden

I am a veteran Game Warden for the State of California.I have city, county, State and Federal Police Officerexperience. I have more than 38 years in law enforcement.

My sons grew up in a law enforcement family. Camping,hunting, fishing and a love and respect of the outdoorswas ingrained. Both boys went on patrol with me andspent endless hours in the field. My oldest son became aGuide/Outfitter in another state.

My youngest son wanted to become a Game Warden. Iencouraged this son to go into the California HighwayPatrol because of the wages and benefits. We comparedthe difference between CHP and DFG over a twenty yearcareer. I honestly could not recommend he become aGame Warden. If I cannot recommend a career with theDFG to my own son, how can I recommend becoming aGame Warden to anyone? I explained that I love my job,but nearing retirement, I sadly realize the effects of thesalary disparity.

My wife of 37 years deserves better. My family and Ideserve better. My family has put up with the office in ourhome, without compensation. All the phone calls, misseddinners and family outings due to the many call outs,

people coming to the door at all hours, workingweekends, holidays and the reality of being available tothe public 24-7. I simply wanted more for my son. Thechoice was clear and he became a CHP Officer in Februaryof 2001. It was with mixed emotions that I pinned hisbadge on at the ceremony in Sacramento. I know he wouldhave made an excellent Game Warden. Instead, he becamean excellent CHP Officer.

My son is 32 years old and just bought his firsthome. I am 62 years old and living in StateHousing. I cannot afford to buy a home intoday’s market on a Game Warden’s salary.

Warden Ken Taylor pins a CHP badge on his son.

Governor, don’t gut DFG programs — and the warden staff— that actually do something for the sportsman.

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Among America’s outdoors-loving environmentalists,appreciation for the shared bounty and beauty of nature is astrong value. Hikers snap a photo of a beautiful flower ratherthan pick it. “Take only pictures, leave onlyfootprints” is the ideal—one which is mostly followed….byAmericans.

In addition, American hunters are some of the bestprotectors of animals, because they understand thatobeying the legal limits means the supply of deer, ducks andother game will extend into the future. That’s the huntingethic.

But when immigrants from non-conservationist countries(that would be most of them) see America’s natural riches,eyeballs turn to dollar signs. Greedy foreigners plot the theftof our shared natural heritage, in the crime generically knownas poaching.

Indeed, one of the most horrendous mass murders of recentyears started out as a poaching incident. Hmong immigrantChai Vang shot eight and killed six Wisconsin hunters whofound him on property owned by two of their group. Vangwas perched in a private tree stand in hopes of shooting adeer. When he was ordered to leave, Vang attacked the

Americans, all but one of whom were unarmed. Four wereshot in the back, and 20-year-old Joey Crotteau was killedafter he ran nearly 500 feet.

Clearly, some poachers take their thieving very seriously. Itdoesn’t help that Hmong values do not include respect forprivate property.

Many forms ofpoaching bring bigmoney for littleeffort, particularlysince species lossmeans thatindividual creaturesthen become morevaluable with theirscarcity. Andforeign thievesoften follow theirculturalbackground infocusing on aspecies tovictimize.

Russianimmigrants, forexample, appear to be the main actors in the sturgeon/caviarpoaching here in northern California. Last May, theDepartment of Fish and Game busted a sturgeon-poachingring with the arrest of nine Russians—including the owner ofthe Gastronom Russian Deli in San Francisco. The Bay Area

species of freshwater sturgeon is a substantialcreature when allowed to reach maturity. In the 1800s,sturgeon were abundant. “Back in those days itwas not uncommon to see incredibly large,12-foot sturgeon pushing 1,000 pounds andupwards of 100 years old,” said Marty Gingras,a supervising biologist at the California Departmentof Fish and Game. [Beluga ban boosts California caviar,by Carolyn Said, San Francisco Chronicle, January 7,2006] Bars served caviar free, like popcorn or peanutstoday. But overfishing reduced the species to thepoint where all Bay Area sturgeon fishing was bannedfor the first half of the 20th century. Today limitedfishing is permitted for individuals, and no fish gottenin sport fishing may be sold.

Russian sturgeon is threatened with extinction in the CaspianSea, so last October the U.S. government banned theimportation of beluga caviar. Caviar from wild sturgeon ismore desired that the farmed product, but thieves have alsostolen fish from the tanks of aquaculturalists. The poachingproblem is so severe that the population of Bay Areasturgeon has fallen by half since the late 1990s.

Diversity Is Strength! It’s Also . . . PoachingFebruary 01, 2006

By Brenda Walker

Photo above: Chai Vang kneels by a buck he killed in October2004, a month before the deadly confrontation in the forest.Inset: Mark Roidt, Joey Crotteau, Robert Crotteau, Denny Drew,Jessica Willers, Al Laski.

The final takedown of a sturgeon poaching ringnear downtown Sacramento. Significant numbersof undersized and overlimits of sturgeon killed bypoachers.

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Unsurprisingly, the price of California caviar has risen to over$250 per pound on the black market. Further north up theCalifornia coast, the poaching object of interest is abalone, atasty mollusk. Back in the 1960s, abalone was abundant,harvested commercially with up to five million pounds takenannually. But overfishing seriously depleted the stock, leadingto a ban on commercial harvesting in 1997.

In earlier days, abalone could be picked from rocks at lowtide. But acquiring fresh abalone now requires diving in somedepth of ocean water to find the creatures. Regulationsstarting in 2002 permit individuals a limit of 24 abalone perseason, tracked on a punch card to be filled in by the diver.

Abalone is particularly valuedin Asian cuisine, and a poacherin the 1990s could make$100,000 per year. Many ofthe perps have been Chineseand Vietnamese, filling ademand in Chinatownrestaurants and markets.

Another poaching crime: thecase of Omid Adhami, aforeigner who used a speargunto kill a giant sea bass, friendlyenough to local divers to havea name, in La Jolla EcologicalReserve.

“When authorities intercepted the vessel, theydiscovered Blackie — a 50-something-year-oldgiant black sea bass weighing 171 pounds —skewered. The slain fish, a protected species, hadbeen friendly to swimmers in the cove since the1950s, says lifeguard Sgt. John Sandmeyer.

“‘There are groups that are breaking [into] tearsover this,’ he says.

“State law prohibits killing the fish species,gentle giants once harvested to the brink ofextinction. [“Sorry end for cove’s mascot”]

At trial, a game warden compared the killing to “going outto a dairy and shooting a cow.” (Or, perhaps, chasinga horse to death).

The perp had a long rap sheet, couldn’t be expected toexhibit sportsman-like qualities, and indeed shouldn’t havebeen in the country at all:

“Adhami has six felony convictions for auto theft,receiving stolen property, burglary and insurancefraud and has served 21~´2 years in state prison.Adhami also is an undocumented immigrant whocould be deported to his native Iran at any time,according to court records.” (3 plead not guilty in killingof protected fish, by Terry Rodgers, San Diego Union-Tribune,June 3, 2005)

Some might argue that poaching is a nuisance crime and notimportant. The killing of the sea bass Blackie was amisdemeanor. It didn’t even get Adhami deported.

Poaching properly refers to animals, but the plant kingdomhas been hit by rip-offs also. Illegal aliens have discovered thegreen riches available in the Olympic National Park—on theocean-facing peninsula of western Washington andcontaining a rare temperate rainforest which receives over140 inches of rainfall per year, so the foliage is extraordinarilylush and varied—and other protected areas in the northwest.A hard-picking illegal alien can easily earn $75 daily harvestinggreenery for floral arrangements.

One popular species is salal,admired for its smooth, darkgreen leaves. Your next floralarrangement may be partiallyadorned with ill-gottengreens.

The whole idea of nationalparks is to have a protectedspace for nature wherenothing gets picked, period.Parks are not safeguarded sothat illegal aliens can make aliving stripping them bare.

In California’s Sequoia National Park, the main problem is notwhat’s taken, but what has been added. Mexican drug gangshave taken over large areas to grow marijuana, complete witharmed guards. In 2004, authorities pulled 44,000 plants outof the park, worth around $176 million.

In the last few years, the National Park Department hasissued occasional lists of the most dangerous parks—andthey don’t mean mountain lions. Heading up the list wasOrgan Pipe Cactus National Monument, where Ranger KrisEggle was shot and killed in 2002 by Mexican drug smugglers.Parts of Sequoia, including the Kaweah River drainage andareas off Mineral King Road, are no-go zones for visitors andpark rangers during the April-to-October growing season,when drug lords cultivate pot on an agribusiness-scale fit forthe Central Valley. The list includes Yosemite, one of ourcrown jewels

The growers poach wildlife, spill pesticides, divert waterfrom streams and dump tons of trash. Last November 17,Laura Whitehouse testified before Congress on behalf of theNational Parks Conservation Association that insufficientresources to deal with the damage done by Mexican drugcartels means a degraded park experience for Americanschool children. Sequoia National Park spent $50,000 in fiscalyear 2005 to clear out garbage, miles of irrigation hose, andother debris left behind when the marijuana gardens wereabandoned or eradicated. In 2002, the Park Service wasforced to refuse about half of the school groups requestingranger-led education programs because it had to devotesignificant resources instead to combating the park’smarijuana problem.

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Yet enforcement lags. Rangers say they lack helicopters andmanpower. Elected officials have other priorities, includinghomeland security and fighting drug cartels in Latin America.

One measure of the government’s shocking inattention toU.S. parks: 60 helicopters and about $4 billion have been sentto Colombia since 2000 to pursue drug eradication there. Yetthe 2005 budget for dealing with drug crime in the park hasbeen cut by half, and there are no helicopters available. [Warof the Weed, LA Times, August 9, 2005]

The park policy is another example of Washington puttingAmerica last. Actual homeland protection is less importantthan riding herd on the world’s affairs and acting as asuperpower. The Mexican army has made hundreds of“incursions” across our border with no complaint fromPresident Bush, and Mexican drug cartels are effectivelyannexing our treasured national parks. Yet Washington’sattention remains elsewhere.

The fact that nature preserves have become dangerousplaces is another immigration-driven nail in the coffin ofAmerican quality of life. Campers of a decade back didn’thave to worry about getting killed by Mexican drug cartelsoccupying public parklands.

You loaded up your gear and headed out for the wild country,where the only danger might be having insufficient insectrepellent. But these days, savvy hikers would be wise toinclude safety in the mix when deciding where to trek, andavoid parks where they might get chased away at gun point.Young people now don’t have the pleasure of open spaces—wild animals, spectacular vistas, and the ease of reachingthem—that Baby Boomers accepted as part of our Americanheritage just a few decades ago.

As a local diver remarked about the Blackie fish-killing case:“There is nothing more boring than an emptyocean.” Except maybe an over-full country—stripped of itsflora and fauna, and ultimately its identity, by lawlessforeigners.

A suspect convicted of a felony conspiracy charge to sellabalone is subject to a maximum of three years in stateprison, and a minimum $20,000 to $40,000 fine

Wardens secure large pot garden during evidence collectionand eradication.

Warden doingfieldnecropsy ondepredationlion.

Waterpollutioninvestigationinvolvingillegaldumpingkillingthousands offish.

Brenda Walker would rather hug a tree than an illegal alien. In non-hugging moments, she publishes ImmigrationsHumanCost andblogs daily on LimitsToGrowth.org

The articles on VDARE.com are brought to you by theLexington Research Institute and The Center for AmericanUnity. We are supported by generous donations from ourreaders. Contributions are tax deductible and appreciated.Copyright © 1999 - 2006 VDARE.com

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Game Wardens are thefirst line of defense forwildlife and the public

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Lt. George Gross of the California Department of Fish andGame says he must travel long distances because of theminimal staffing of his department.

Game wardens are stretched thin withenforcement at only 2 percent

The Central Coast is rich in wildlife, so state Fish andGame representatives weren’t shocked by the possibilitythat six recently cited Nipomo and Arroyo Granderesidents may have poached hundreds of animals.

They were justsurprised thatthey caughtthem.

With a fleet offield wardensstretchedwoefully thin,wardens saythey are“inefficiently”and “poorly”able toenforceenvironmentaland wildliferegulations.

One study cited by a Fish and Game official estimatedthat the department catches only 2 percent of all criminalwildlife violations.

“Part of that is the sheer lack ofofficers out there,” said Lt. LizSchwall of the Fish and Gameenforcement division.

California Fish and Game only hasabout 200 field wardens on patrolthroughout the state for poachers,illegal dumpers and other violators,according to the department — a 23percent drop since the early 1990s.

Ninety other wardens are employed inadministrative positions, bringing thetotal number of wardens to about290 — far lower than the 352 they are

budgeted for.

With 159,000 square miles and over 1,000miles of coastline, wardens say they areoverwhelmed.

Todd Tognazzini, the warden whodiscovered the six suspected poachersarrested, is one of just four field wardenspatrolling San Luis Obispo County.

“At this level we don’t have the time to dorandom patrols thatcatch these type ofcrimes,” Tognazzinisaid.

Santa Barbara Countyis stretched eventhinner, with three fieldwardens and just onefield warden on full-time patrol. The otherwardens patrol whenthey aren’t workingspecific operations,such as checkingcommercial fishing,said warden JaimeDostal, who patrolsNorth County.

Ventura County has one field warden.

“I’ve been working for the department since 1981. For mepersonally, I think it’s the worst it’s ever been,” said Lt.George Gross.

Dostal says he says he spends a large part of his day in thecar criss-crossing the county rather than targeting hispatrol.

“If you had a full staff, generally you’d be able to focusmore on specific areas where you know violations areoccurring as opposed to just driving long distances toanswer a call,” Dostal said.

Officials say the staffing problem is partly a product ofCalifornia’s budget woes and partly due to the poor payfor wardens in comparison to other state law enforcementdepartments.

Poaching arrests came as surpriseBy Mark Baylis / Staff Writer / mbaylis@timespressrecorder.com

February 17, 2006

TPR photo by Ed Souza.

Todd Tognazzini

Jaime Dostal

Liz Schwall

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While Fish and Game wardens are recognized as peaceofficers and are required to have more educational trainingthan police or California Highway Patrol, they receivesignificantly lower pay.

The starting pay for a Fish and Game warden is between$37,000 and $44,000, officials said. A CHP officerstraight out of the academy earns approximately$50,000, a CHP spokesman said.

The stealthy nature of poaching and other violationsfurther complicates enforcing state environmental andwildlife laws, area wardens said.

“There’s very little science out there that measures howmuch poaching is going on,” Tognazzini said.

Officials believe the area is ripe for poachers due to thewealth of wildlife. It’s also a popular spot for poachers tovisit from the nearby Central Valley, Tognazzini said.

Fish and Game officers issued 13,890 total citationsstatewide in 2005, according to a representative. About75 percent of annual citations are for sport fishingviolations, Schwall said.

Steelhead, abalone, salmon and other fish are a prime preyas lakes and bodies of water warm up in the spring.Shellfish are commonly targeted during the winter low-tide months, wardens said.

About 20 percent of annual citations are for huntingviolations. Wardens believe the top poached game locallyare deer, wild pigs and wild turkey, with poacherscommonly using illegal spotlighting, Tognazzini said.

The rest are for miscellaneous violations, includingenvironmental infractions.

While plenty of poaching occurs on public land, SantaYnez Valley rancher Fred Chamberlin said he spots five tosix poachers on his property a year, but rarely callsauthorities.

“There are two reasons our deer herd is not anywhere nearwhere it was 50 years ago,” Chamberlin said. “One ismountain lions and the other is poaching.”

Citations not only enforce the law, but also feed countycoffers, which receive half of the fine amounts generatedin their borders. Santa Barbara County has averaged$13,258 in revenue between 2001 and 2004, according tocounty records.

Dostal estimates half of wardens’ encounters withpossible violators are tip-driven, the other are due topatrols. CalTIP, the hotline used to generate such calls, hasreceived over 3,200 tips annually since 2002, said Schwall.

Tognazzini made the recent bust after following up on atip that there was a heavy concentration of water fowlnear a San Luis Obispo County lake. The investigation,which started in January 2004, revealed that the men werestuffing the lake full of grain to lure prey, Tognazzini said.

It led to warrants being served and citations issued basedon hundreds of animal carcasses inside the homes of thepoaching suspects. Authorities found 292 doves, 47ducks, 77 quail, 28 pheasants and a mountain lion, officialssaid.

Officials are still considering whether to pursue federalcharges against the suspects.

Monterey County, Game Warden shot at by large caliber rifle whileon patrol impacting the marked patrol vehicle.

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Bad News for Bad Guys

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Help us to help themHelp us to help themTake action today to give

salary parity to California’sFish &Game Wardens

Fish and Game Warden Association – from left to right: Ben Thompson, Jerry Karnow, Jake Bushey, Sr., Nicole Kozicki, Joe Mello,Rick Coelho, Bob Orange. Not pictured: Gary Combes, Robert Farrell.

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Fish and GameWarden Pilots

make$70,092 per year

CHP Pilots make$76,380 per yearplus numerous incentives

which add up to more than$20,000+ per year

Game wardens deserve

parity with chp

ExpectedCHP Pilot earnings:$96,380 per year

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NO WARDENS, NO WILDLIFE

The only way to insure a healthyenvironment is to take care of itscaretakers.

Support California’sGame Wardens