2009 Investigative Report

“It is horrifying that we have to fight our own governmentto save the environment.” — Ansel Adams

California Fish and Game Wardens© Mary Carpenter, Investigative Reporter

Early morning arrests on April 10, 2009, shut down another EasternEuropean black market operation of sturgeon and salmon poaching.California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) officers and the SpecialOperations Unit (SOU) of DFG covered several communities in and aroundthe Sacramento area netting seven arrests in Operation Colusa Clan. Thismakes the eighth major sturgeon poaching takedown operation since2003.

Ongoing sturgeon and abalone poaching has a negativeimpact on the species,” said DFG SOU leader Lt. KathyPonting. “Both are slow growing animals which makesthem exceptionally vulnerable to population decline.”Sturgeon has been over-harvested primarily for theinternational caviar market. In Northern California thatmarket remains controlled by Eastern Europeanorganizations that harvest the eggs for caviar, killingbreeding females, some up to 60 years old. In additionto poaching, habitat degradation and destruction inthe lakes and streams has helped contribute to thedecline of the species. Since the collapse of thesturgeon/caviar industry of the Caspian Sea, NorthAmerica and Canada have become the prime sourcesfor caviar production. According to DFG, the amountof sturgeon harvested for caviar is unsustainable dueto the extent of black market trade.

Simultaneously, with sturgeon poaching comes theextensive poaching of young salmon used as bait forsturgeon. “With young salmon as bait we’re hit twiceon this— salmon and sturgeon,” said Lt. Ponting. “Theillegal use of juvenile salmon for sturgeon baitjeopardizes an already fragile Sacramento River SalmonRun. We commonly find those who poach sturgeon forprofit illegally net large quantities of juvenile salmonfry found along the shoreline. This practice has asignificant impacts on both species at once..” Withrecent declines in salmon spawning numbers due to thepoaching of juveniles and larger fish, the environmentalimperative remains that the decline of both speciescould indicate a Titanic-like effect that cannot bereversed.

Wardens arrested sevenSacramento area men suspectedof catching sturgeon usingjuvenile salmon as bait, thenselling the illegally harvestedfish for personal profit. DubbedOperation Colusa Clan, it isthe eighth major sturgeonpoaching operation since 2003.Most of the fish were caught inColusa County. “We are usingevery resource we have availableto keep up with sturgeon andsalmon poaching,” said NancyFoley, Chief of DFG’s LawEnforcement Division. “This is ahuge case we will continue tomake every effort to stoppoaching.”

Lack of Game Wardenscosts California more than

$100 million in resource damage© Mary Carpenter, Investigative Reporter

Fish biologists also agree that part of the decline isdue to habitat degradation from pollution andhazardous material spills besides experiencingwater quality issues such as dam construction andloss of suitable habitat. United States ForestService (USFS) Fish Biologist Ryan Foote agrees. “It’sreally hard to point the finger at any one thing thatwould be causing poor water conditions. It tends tobe a multitude of factors acting collectively to alterwater quality and fish habitat.”

“Abalone take approximately 12 years to reach theminimum sport take size of 7. Sturgeon can live upto 100 years and large egg bearing females spawnevery 4-6 years,” said Lt. Ponting. “When they startgetting very large they’re pretty old. A lot of thesturgeon that were poached in (Operation ColusaClan) were very old. There are minimum andmaximum limits for protection of smaller speciesfor future generations and for big breeders tomake it up river.” In these cases very large femalesare taken and killed for their eggs, and in mostcases the poaching kills many other juveniles andmales, destroying habitat and ending the eggproduction of a large female that is capable ofspawning many more times.

A lot of these resources are very finite and we arethe stewards of these resources. They belong to thepeople of the state as a privilege to harvest forpersonal and commercial use so we have to protectand regulate, but if there is not enough of us thatwon’t happen.” DFG Game Warden Gary Combeswith large take of poached adult abalone fromNorthern California, which would have beenillegally sold to restaurants all over the state.

In sturgeon poaching cases,very large females are takenand killed for their eggs, andin most cases the poachingkills many other juvenilesand males, destroyinghabitat and ending the eggproduction of large femalesthat are capable ofspawning many more times.

“We are using every resource we have available to keepup with the sturgeon and salmon poaching,” said DFGEnforcement Division Chief, Nancy Foley. DFGunfortunately operates with a small enforcementdivision that covers 1100 miles of coastline, more than200,000 square miles of ocean that includes recentlyincreased Marine Protection Areas (MPAs) that can’t allbe patrolled with so little manpower. In addition, inlandpatrol has recently taken a toll in increased poaching inNorthern California that hampers a department furtherdamaged by a lack of personnel due to recent gamewardens retiring.

According to Chief Foley, with the current increasedMPAs and more than a hundred more being implementedthrough current legislation, game wardens will be taxedto monitor illegal fishing activity and habitatdegradation in areas of prime concern for salmonpopulations as well as other species that are at risk suchas abalone and sturgeon. To add insult to injury thestate has again declared a moratorium on commercialsalmon fishing that will further damage the economy,putting many outfits that supply Northern Californiaout of jobs and business. Without the assistance oflegal fisherman in these areas, illegal operations willlikely increase their poaching activities, nearly sightunseen. Without proper enforcement, poaching andhabitat destruction will cause serious and irrevocabledamage to species at risk.

“With sixty-six thousand fishery businesses operating inCalifornia alone and thousands of those businessesoperating in San Francisco, it is a nearly impossible featto patrol that much area with only one game wardenand patrol vessel,” said Chief Foley.

Wildlife poaching, which includes salmon, sturgeon,deer, bear, abalone, crab and many others as well asprotected species such as bald eagle, condor and awide range of amphibians and snakes, has drasticallyincreased as warden numbers continue to plummet. In apress release on April 3, DFG reported, ‘Three weeksafter finding an adult male condor with 15 shotgunpellets lodged in its body, biologists at the VentanaWildlife Society found three lead pellets in a juvenilefemale. The second bird, condor #375, was trapped bybiologists on March 26 in Big Sur. “We were alarmedwhen one condor was found shot, but now with twobirds in such a short time, we are deeply concerned,”said Kelly Sorenson, director of Ventana WildlifeSociety.’ The condor is a Federal Endangered Species.In 1982 there were only 22 condors in the world living.Currently, condors’ survival is still precarious with only320 worldwide.

Starting salaries of approximately $43,000 for fieldgame wardens positions that require 60 college unitsare too low to compete with other law enforcementagencies in the state of California such as the CaliforniaHighway Patrol (CHP), another state law enforcementagency. CHP has a starting wage of approximately

$65,000 and requires only a high school diploma orGED. With the personal risk and requirements involvedfor field game wardens many who initially test andtrain eventually transfer to higher paying lawenforcement departments elsewhere.

“Poaching is one reason why sturgeon struggle tomaintain healthy populations,” said Chief Foley. Becauseof sturgeon poaching “the current population of adultwhite sturgeon in California is low” and the greensturgeon is on the Endangered Species List.”There are only 220 field game wardens in California, astate that has become a haven for illegal activity in thetrafficking of wildlife and resources, both domesticallyand internationally. Bear parts have been widelytransported internationally as well as other rare speciesof animals, many amphibians, that thrive here and arealso endangered and native to California.

Bears are illegally hunted for their paws and gallbladders, teeth and hides, which are sold on the blackmarket to be distributed domestically andinternationally. The market for bear parts is strong forAsian medicinals that are believed to have healingproperties for a wide range of incurable diseases.

Political agenda interferes withprotecting California resources

Now, when California’s natural resources are at theirmost vulnerable, the California Department of Fish andGame is operating with very little funding and supportin addition to a very small law enforcement divisionthat includes two day a month furloughs. This leavesCalifornia’s natural resources further unprotected at apoint when so many are threatened and field gamewarden numbers are already at a historical low percapita, state and nationwide.

“Game warden staffing levels remain the same as thenumber of wardens in the 1950s, not per capita, but theactual number of wardens across the state today asthere were in 1950,” said California Fish and GameWarden Association (CFGWA) representative and 30year veteran game warden, Bob Orange. “As of now,

“Poaching for profitin California issecond only to theillegal drug trade. Inthe mid 1990’s thevalue of stolenresources was over$100 million. Sincethat time I can onlyguess that it’sdoubled or tripled.”

Nancy Foley, DFGEnforcement DivisionChief.

California’s ratio of game wardens to the state’sgeneral population is the worst of all 50 states and theCanadian provinces. A particularly sad state of affairsconsidering the fact that California contains some ofthe most diverse wildlife and fisheries resources in thenation..”

It is estimated in a Congressional Report submitted asrecently as March 3, 2008 and updated Feb 2, 2009 thecommercial global “demand for illegally obtainedwildlife is ubiquitous.” In other words analysts describefinancial losses to the United States may “potentiallytotal in excess of $20 billion annually”. The documenttitled International Illegal Trade in Wildlife:Threats and U.S. Policy Congressional Research Service:Report, can be viewed at http://assets.opencrs.com/rpts/RL34395_20090202.pdf. Compiled by CongressionalAnalysts Liana Sun Wyler, Analyst in InternationalCrime and Narcotics Foreign Affairs, Defense, and TradeDivision and Pervaze A Sheikh, Analyst in NaturalResource Policy Resources and Industry Division citeslinks to drug trafficking with illicit wildlife trade aswell as terrorism and “significant drug production andtrafficking”. The report concluded that not only arethere substantial financial losses of wildlife there isalso a considerable amount of habitat andenvironmental damage that includes “reducingbiodiversity…disrupting ecosystems by introducingnon-native species” and “transmitting disease.” Inaddition to these issues is a considerable criminalaspect that is “often linked to organized crime and caninvolve the same actors who traffic drugs, arms andpersons.”

The effect on the environment and wildlife are evidentin the collapse of the salmon, abalone, sturgeon anddeer populations in addition to the increased poachingactivity across the state due to the lack ofenforcement.

In an interview for a documentary on game wardensby film maker James Swan titled “Endangered Species:California Fish and Game Wardens”, Chief Foley stated,“Poaching for profit in California is second only to theillegal drug trade. In the mid 1990’s the value of stolenresources was over $100 million. Since that time I can onlyguess that it’s doubled or tripled.”

To see video and testimony on this go to

www.jamesswan.com/snowgoose/wardendoc.html

During Governor Schwarzenegger’s first year in officehe vetoed the hiring of 50 additional game wardensauthorized by the state legislature and in his secondyear his administration, through State Department ofPersonnel Administration (DPA), severely reduced thefunds that had been allocated by the legislature forgame wardens. The following year the governor cut thegame wardens overtime back by over half from thatauthorized by California legislators and last year theadministration attempted to cut 38 game wardenpositions when they were already the worst in thenation in staffing levels. This year the governorproposed to layoff 98 field wardens, which were laterrescinded.

In a statement at the confirmation hearing this year, forDFG Director Don Koch, CFGWA Legislative Liaison andgame warden Jerry Karnow said, “CFGWA will not offer anendorsement to any Director appointed by this Governor…Not until the Governor, who appears to foster the demise ofthe protectors of our environment and natural resources,makes a tangible commitment to his game wardens tomaintain or increase law enforcement personnel, will we offersupport” for Koch’s confirmation.

“Lack of a stable funding source for DFG wardens willcontinue to hamper the State’s effort to recruit, retainand fairly compensate game wardens, resulting in acontinual loss and degradation of this State’s fish andwildlife resources and the habitats upon which theydepend,” said DFG Patrol Vessel Captain Dave Fox whopatrols the San Francisco Bay and thousands of miles ofsurrounding ocean and coastline.

Poaching, local prosecution of poachers and all gameviolations, fines and fine collections and cooperationwith local prosecutors on DFG violations were issuesdiscussed among representatives from various CountyFish and Game Commissions in California.

Bill Karr of Western Outdoor News reported, “An all-day meeting between over 40 representatives ofvarious California County Fish and GameCommissioners at the Sutter Club in Sacramento onFebruary 4 opened the door to formation of the newAssociation”. At the meeting to create the newCalifornia Association of County Fish and GameCommissions, Chief Foley explained that poaching is onthe rise as warden numbers decrease because offunding restrictions.

Poaching becomes rampant aseconomy of California fails

“This year alone evidence of over 200 deer, in just onecase, has been poached. Abalone and sturgeonpoaching is out of control,” said Karnow. “There is aneed to protect natural resources because they are whyhumans exist. We have the responsibility of protectingthe water quality, wildlife and habitat. Wardens are theprofessionals that teach conservation of naturalresources and at the same time are protecting thepublic.”

Since the 200 poached deer from Williams, CA therehave already been other cases such as 27 poached deerin Sacramento, a 78" sturgeon in San Jose and in Gilroy aman killed 335 waterfowl that represented “everyspecies of waterfowl that migrates to and fromCalifornia” as quoted in a DFG report on Recent/Ongoing Poaching Investigations dated Feb 26, 2009.

‘Wildlife crime, habitatdestruction, and water pollutionare out of control in our state.Warden investigations documentthe illegal take of wildlife withregularity. Our work establishesthere is both a statewide andworld-wide network in the illegaltrade of fish and wildlife. Waterpollution continues to plague ourstate and game wardens are thereto hold accountable individualsand companies that ignorepollution laws. It’s tragic ourstate professes to be a leader inthe “green” movement yet will nothire or maintain enough staffingto protect our natural resources’.CFGWA Legislative Liaison andDFG Game Warden Jerry Karnow.

In November 2008, a Gilroy man was convicted of killing335 waterfowl. “The birds represented every species ofwaterfowl that migrates to and from California.”Nancy Foley, DFG Enforcement Division Chief.

As recently as February 24, five antelope were killed inLassen County and left to suffer slow deaths afterbeing shot. Two of the antelope were female andcarried three fetuses. A majority of the officers thatinvestigated these poaching cases received layoffnotices that were later rescinded.

According to DFG, these displays of continueddisregard for the wildlife of California and for the laware only a fraction of what is really at stake. Gamewardens are on patrol in areas that are off the grid andfar removed from mainstream society, but where thesetypes of crimes generally occur. Because the majority ofsuspects reside in large cities, wardens must conductsurveillance, investigations and arrests at businesses incities where poachers sell their illegal products. Withso few game wardens statewide, excessive poachingand habitat damage continues to escalate. In additionto poaching, rural areas also harbor drug labs and otherillegal operations and organizations that are hidden inthe wilderness to avoid detection.

“Poaching and calls for service goes on 24 hours a day,365 days a year, yet we don’t have enough gamewardens in the field to staff one shift a day much lessthree shifts every day of the year. With a stable fundingsource we could use at least triple the number ofwardens we have, so that we could provide morecoverage and have a better chance of deterring andapprehending violators,” said Fox.

Bob Orange presents an even bleaker perspective on thecurrent status of game wardens. “In September 2006the (California) Legislature appropriated funding tosolve the Game Warden recruitment and retentioncrisis,” he said. But in a strange twist in closed doornegotiations with no DFG representative present “theSchwarzenegger Administration through the StateDepartment of Personnel Administration (DPA)bargained away the money in a series of deals withCAUSE/CSLEA (California Statewide Law EnforcementAssociation) to benefit non-sworn personnel,” saidOrange.

Non-Supportive Parent UnionCAUSE/CSLEA stifles DFG efforts to

recruit

A supporter of game wardens, Senator Dave Cox said, ina letter to a constituent, “Last year, I joined 78 of mylegislative colleagues in asking the Budget ConferenceCommittee to retain $17.5 million toward thecompensation (of game wardens) issue. In the end, the2006-2007 budget contained nearly $30 million inorder to address both new positions andcompensation.”

“Of the original $30 million appropriated by thelegislature, $18 million was specifically identified forgame wardens. The wardens only received $2 millionafter negotiations with their parent union CAUSE. TheAdministration argued that wardens received a 25%increase. The purpose of the appropriations was torectify serious inequities between warden salaries,which started at $37,000 and other law enforcementofficer salaries that start in the $50,000 range.” To viewthe document and other support letters go to,www.californiafishandgamewardens.com/docs/ExposeUpdate2007Standard.pdf

Recruitment for game wardens is ineffectual since thebase rate is extremely low in comparison with other lawenforcement agencies while the risk factor is high.Typically, more than one officer responds to a memberof the public with a firearm. For game wardens however,they are generally alone when they patrol and almostalways have to approach someone with a firearm orweapon of some type such as fishing and huntingknives.

As recently as February 24, 2009 a poacher inSusanville, California shot five antelope and leftthem to suffer and die. Two of them were femaleand carried three fetuses.

Currently, recruitment and game warden numbers arebeing critically reduced by wardens transferring tobetter paying jobs and an overall reduction of the forceby at least one-third of field game wardens that will belost to retirement over the next three years.

“In order for DFG to recruit and retain top notch gamewardens, we must get on a stable funding source, likethe CHP has from vehicle registration and drivers licensefees. Due to our wages being considerably lower thanother local law enforcement agencies and the CHP, weare experiencing a severe lack of qualified applicants toeven take the entrance exam for becoming a gamewarden,” said Fox. “As we have not lowered ourqualifications for becoming a game warden, only a smallfraction of those that pass the exam are actually hiredas game wardens. With a stable funding source, wagescould be significantly increased and we would havelittle trouble recruiting and retaining more qualifiedapplicants.”

Unlike most law enforcement agencies the DFG requires60 college units for applicants to apply as gamewardens. At the academy there is also a significantamount of study in species identification and otherskills needed for wildlife crime investigation andresource protection

Approximately three years ago, CFGWA representativesJerry Karnow, Bob Orange, Jake Bushey and otherspresented information to the legislature on the damageto California’s resources without proper lawenforcement.

Salmon and other species at riskwill suffer and disappear without

protection

At a hearing last year before California Legislators,CFGWA representative Bob Orange introduced adocument indicating the “direct correlation of” thedecline in salmon populations with “a lack of wardensenforcing the law and the lack of game wardens inCalifornia.” Orange further explained, “Because of thesevere lack of marine game wardens, patrol boats gounmanned. Meanwhile, poaching goes unchecked andresources are over-harvested and poached bycommercial interests.”

In March of this year, 98 game wardens were issuedlayoff notices but the proposal was later rescinded. Thelayoffs could have critically hampered natural resourceprotection by destroying the DFG enforcement division.This layoff proposal came close on the heels of a 10percent cut in pay due to the two day a monthfurloughs, which California Highway Patrol is notsubjected to, nor are they threatened by layoffs.

With the ever-increasing amount of citations andarrests of poachers and violators, wardens are overextended and are ill equipped to deal with the volumeof crime being exacted on wildlife and resources inCalifornia. Even with the staggering amount ofpoaching and over harvesting arrests and citations byDFG, many more than are actually caught get away withpoaching because of the lack of enforcement.

“Lack of a stablefunding source forDFG wardens willcontinue to hamperthe State’s effort torecruit, retain andfairly compensategame wardens,resulting in acontinual loss anddegradation of thisState’s fish andwildlife resources andthe habitats uponwhich they depend.”DFG Marine GameWarden Dave Fox,Patrol Vessel Captain,San Francisco.

“Salmon habitat continues to degrade and yet theGame Wardens who have the responsibility toenforce laws to prevent environmentaldegradation are too few to monitor the more

than 18,000miles ofstreams andcreeks, nearly200,000 squaremiles of ocean,and all of theindustries thathave a directimpact uponCalifornia’ssalmon.”CFGWARepresentativeand DFG GameWarden, BobOrange.

MPAs risk poaching, habitat damagewithout proper enforcement

According to Orange, MPAs and Marine Life ProtectionAreas (MLPAs) of California are areas where the cost ofliving is higher because it’s a coastal environment. Aserious shortage of wardens in these areas is becomingmore problematic as MLPAs are increased and lesswardens are available to enforce the law due totransfers to better paying law enforcement jobs orcurrently, retirement. “Within Game Warden circles theacronym MPA is known as Marine Poaching Areas,” saidOrange.

As recently as April, this year, a sea otter and anelephant seal were decapitated at Morro Strand StateBeach. DFG believes the skulls were intentionally takenbut are still investigating the incident. Both species areprotected and any hunting or possession of parts isillegal under California law as a threatened speciesunder the Federal Endangered Species Act. A DFGbiologist found the decapitated bodies on April 7 and 8a short distance from each other and believed the headswere removed sometime in the evening of the April 6 orearly morning of April 7.

As patrol vessel captains, both Dave Fox and Keith Longknow what it is to have to patrol an area that takesweeks for one vessel to cover. The increase in MPAs bythe current administration without an increase in patroland support has made this problematic trying to coverone area only to have another being depleted in a largeand illegal operation.

“Without adequate warden forces enforcing the MPAboundaries and special regulations within the MLPAs itonly stands to reason that violations (poaching) willincrease as more MLPAs are brought on-line,” saidCaptain Fox.

In 2007 “California experienced the smallest recordedfall run of salmon in its history, due in large part toincreased poaching at a time when there were notenough game wardens to cover the necessary areas,”said Orange. “Salmon habitat continues to degrade andyet the game wardens who have the responsibility toenforce laws to prevent environmental degradation aretoo few to monitor the more than 18,000 miles ofstreams and creeks, nearly 200,000 square miles ofocean, and all of the industries that have a directimpact upon California’s salmon.”

Bear poaching hasbecome a criticalproblem for gamewardens tocontrol since gallbladders andother bear partsfetch a high priceon the blackmarket,domestically andinternationally.

Water Quality will be leftunprotected for Californians

The DFG is a “formidable law enforcement presence inthe state,” said Karnow, “and half of the cops thatarrested suspects in poaching investigations got layoffnotices. This alone is tragicwith a lack of protectionto wildlife and naturalresources in the state,” saidKarnow. “The governorcontinues to claim hesupports the environmentwhile at the same timeleaving resources open todestruction or completedegradation, especially thewater supply. A vitalnatural resource to all life iswater quality,” he said.

Water pollution continues to plague our state andgame wardens are there to hold accountableindividuals and companies that ignore pollutionlaws. It’s tragic our state professes to be a leaderin the “green” movement yet will not hire ormaintain enough staffing to protect our naturalresources.” CFGWA Legislative Liaison and DFGGame Warden, Jerry Karnow at ConfirmationHearing for interim DFG Director Don Koch.

“Last year I investigated a one-half million gallonsewage spill into a creek in Roseville that was a sensitivesalmon spawning area. It created great concern andmedia attention and untold costs in damage andcleanup and it took a warden two days to respond dueto a lack of officers. All officers at that time wereworking on other investigations and pollution incidentsacross the state,” said Karnow.

Recently retired DFG patrolvessel captain, Lt. Keith Longsaid of the increase in MPAs,“How are they going to protectthe salmon? The passing of abill is not what is needed unlesswe have the physical bodies ofwardens out there to enforcethe regulations. Why do youthink they call us the thin greenline?”

A train accidentcaused a chemicaltank car to fall intothe Sacramento River,spilling 19,000 gallonsof the herbicidemetam sodium. Thechemical impactsextended over 20miles from the spillsite to Lake Shasta.

These resources that are vitally important qualitiesnecessary to all life, humans equally, are patrolled andenforced by DFG. Protection of water quality, watersources from all types of hazards to water suppliesmust not be degraded for survival of any species.“Two out of three calls to the DFG poaching hotline donot receive a response due to the lack of officers,” saidOrange. “February 18, 2009 the state sent layoff /surplus notices to 98 field game wardens in the state.”Representing the CFGWA, Orange and Karnow haveworked continually to educate the legislature withregard to the need to protect the wildlife, habitat,water quality and resources of California.

“California already has the worst ratio of game wardensper capita in the nation and provinces of Canada.Nearly 40 percent of the existing Game Warden forcewill reach retirement age within the next few years,” hesaid. “If layoffs occur, there will be few if any gamewardens remaining. California can expect to seeincreased, uncontrollable poaching and degradation ofnatural resources as a result.”

CFGWA received support from Senator DennisHollingsworth who stated in a letter dated Feb 12,2009, “the future of California’s natural resources…isclosely tied to our ability to protect them fromdepletion, and in that regard, we are in serious troubleas California has the worst game wardens per capitaratio of any state or Canadian province – about 200 inthe field for the entire state. At one time, in fact, it wasestimated that the black market in illegal wildlifetrafficking was over $100 million a year in California. Inthese troubled times, and with so few wardens in thefield, it’s likely that this figure has grown significantly.”Hollingsworth went on to emphasize that “the vital rolethat Fish and Game Wardens play is virtually unknown tomost Californians, and their participation inconservation efforts, law enforcement and homelandsecurity is not understood. This has a dramatic effecton their profession with respect to support,recruitment, and retention.”

Unchecked poaching leads tohabitat damage as well as species

destruction

At this time, poaching in California is a paramountconcern for DFG. In a recent press release from DFG,Chief Foley said, “Poachers who sell California’s wildlifefor profit can cause irreparable harm to wildlifepopulations. Commercialization of wildlife cases is awarden’s highest priority.” This statement, in a pressrelease, was in response to a poaching case fromDecember 4, 2008 “Wardens collected tissue samplesfrom several butchered deer carcasses found in deerwinter range primarily in El Dorado County. On Jan. 3,wardens arrested Lofoo Saeturn, age 42, during a deer

meat sale and later Merry Nian Saechao, age 61, both ofSacramento at the home where they simultaneouslyserved a search warrant. Upon conclusion of the searchwarrant and forensic tests that were conducted,wardens discovered at least 28 deer at the house andapproximately 200 pounds of meat. Also, discovered atthe house were abalone packaged individually withweight recordings on each bag, 19 squirrels andpackaged blue gill, a popular fish found in California, allpresumably for sale”.

Big game in California, bear and deer, are regularlypoached as trophies and profit for the meat besidesrare and exotic animals and amphibians that thrive hereor are native to California but rare elsewhere. Blackmarket products include bear gall bladders and otherorgans processed as oriental medicine, apparently theanswer of physical relief for ailments from colds toimpotence, incurable diseases and cancers. There havebeen many operations by DFG SOU to stop poachingand black market operations but these crimes are onthe rise and the department remains under funded andunder staffed of field game wardens.

While funding for DFG law enforcement is being hackedaway, natural resources such as drinking water, wildlifeand habitat will always be at risk with more Californiansout of work and who have lost their homes toforeclosure. Many will do anything to make money, evenjust survive, if it means exploiting the resources untilthey are completely devastated.

On January 11, 2009,Game wardens conducted asearch warrant on a Williams man suspected ofdeer poaching. They found over 200 sets of deerantlers at his residence.

The direct link from California to the worldwide blackmarket in wildlife has become highly profitable,especially in bear, sturgeon, and abalone. Three yearsago DFG sent two SOU game wardens to Cambodia toinstruct Asian wildlife officers on how to investigatewildlife crimes, conduct investigations and evaluatecrime scenes. An integrated network of lawenforcement agencies gathered in Cambodia to receivethis instruction, sponsored by the ASEAN-WEN Project.Agencies included customs, police, prosecutors,specialized governmental wildlife law enforcementorganizations and other agencies that work to preventthe illicit hunting, harvesting and transnational trade ofrare and endangered species of animals and plants. Thetraining was collaboration of law enforcement agenciesthrough 10 cooperating countries in an effort topreserve their exotic wildlife that is dwindling becauseof poaching and black market activity.

“Ten or so East Asian countries signed an agreement asa wildlife enforcement network to put forth the effortto control the poaching and sale of tigers, bears,elephants, toucans, parrots and other animals that havemedicinal value and are species that are poached andexported out of the country,” said Lt. Ponting. Theclass proved that California DFG is leading the way tohelp wildlife protection efforts, to conserve natural

resources and investigate poaching as poaching is oneof the largest black market trades second only to drugtrade. Training this new investigation unit was Lt.Ponting and Lt. John Nores. “The classwe put on was focused on nature crimes investigation,”said Lt. Ponting.

“In association with the ASEAN-WEN support project,Wildlife Alliance is working through support andsponsorship of USAID that stated “To combat the illegalwildlife trade effectively, law enforcement agenciesmust be trained to match the tactics of the wildlifecrime offenders. We must form a global network ofpolice, customs, and environmental managementagencies to eliminate large- scale wildlife crime,” saidKarnow. “California was recognized for contributions ithad to offer in wildlife protection, professionalism, andstate-of-the-art law enforcement tactics when twoCalifornia Game Wardens were sent to this country tolead the 2-week training event. Because of California’sknown bio-diversity of wildlife and habitats, and thenexus of illegal sales of wildlife parts betweenSoutheast Asia and ports in Los Angeles and SanFrancisco, California was specifically requested to helplead the charge, and first of any known stateconservation agency ever in the nation.”

Sponsored by the ASEAN-WEN Project (Association of Southeast Asian Nation’s Wildlife EnforcementNetwork), an integrated network of law enforcement agencies gathered in Cambodia to receive instructionfrom DFG SOU specialists and game wardens Lt. Kathy Ponting and John Nores in the investigation of wildlifecrimes. Participating agencies included customs, police, prosecutors, specialized governmental wildlife lawenforcement organizations and other agencies that work to prevent the illicit hunting, harvesting andtransnational trade of rare and endangered species of animals and plants.

California’s DFG Enforcement Division and SOU leads nationally andglobally in wildlife crime prevention and investigation

Wildlife crime scene investigation yields huge crimesand arrests of mafia-level organizations from Asia andRussia. Due to the lack of enforcement theseorganizations have found fertile ground in poachingCalifornia’s natural resources.

Unless DFG is able to bring down an entire organizationin a sting operation, crime scenes many times revealwhat has already happened. In these cases it isnecessary for the department to put as much lawenforcement and resources into forensic and crimescene research as possible without allowing other areasof the state to go without protection. This is oftenhard to do when resources have to be drawn from othercounties to perform the type of operations that theSOU must have for the safety of all involved.

“Right now there is huge money in abalone and whitesturgeon caviar because those species are slow growingand fragile and it takes them a long time to reachmaturity and reproduce,” said. Lt. Ponting. “The caviaris a delicacy bound for Eastern Europe most of the time,and the north coast of California holds one of the lastpopulations of red abalone in the world. They were inAustralia and Africa, but since they allowed commercialfishing of these species, they were decimated. Theprices on the black market are huge.”

That statement was made during a surveillanceoperation that was being conducted on sturgeonpoachers more than two years ago. Since then poachinghas been on the rise and is costing the state even morein natural resource losses.

“As wardens we hear that legislators recognize there is aproblem with the understaffing of Fish and Game aswell as low wages and damage to the environment andwildlife in California,” said retired DFG game wardenJake Bushey of the Burney District. “The fisheries andwildlife cannot be protected by a handful of wardens.The problem has been going on for 30 years, and itwould be wonderful if this could be GovernorSchwarzenegger’s legacy. He could say ‘I’m the guy thatfixed it; I’m the guy that protected the wildlife andnatural resources for future generations to enjoy.”

Bushey remembers when he tested for Fish and Game inShasta County there were approximately 400 people inthe auditorium to test for Fish and Game. In 2008 hesaid there was only 11 people testing in all of NorthernCalifornia. Bushey said that within the first six monthsof last year’s new hires four out of the ten people hiredquit because they thought it too dangerous for whatDFG is paying.

Game Wardens have one of themost hazardous law enforcement

jobs in CaliforniaAll game wardens will encounter weapons and drugactivity of some sort while on patrol simply due to thenature of a job that requires travel in areas that aregenerally off the grid and hidden from plain sight.Most game wardens will be alone without close backup. From guns and knives during inland hunting, fishingand with the growing popularity of poaching, theocean patrols often combine an unstable landscapewith the danger of even more unique weapons such asgaffs, poles, knives, and all types of firearms.

“At one time you could go down onto the Klamath and see salmon jumping out of the water. It was a veryimpressive sight, but that hasn’t been the case for a long time. Now there is a problem with salmon onthe Klamath and in the ocean because of low populations,” he said. “Fishing adult salmon is illegal andthere is only a limited sport season.” Retired DFG game warden Jake Bushey, Burney.

Wardens encounter many types of weapons includingfirearms when doing their job, which is for the mostpart alone.

“To illustrate as a chilling reminder of the dangerouswork game wardens are exposed to, there were twoofficer involved shootings in 2008 and one in 2007 inwhich a gun fire exchange left one suspect dead, “saidKarnow. “In 2005 a warden was shot in a gun battlekilling one of two suspects and another officer involvedshooting in 2005 left another suspect dead. In 2003 awarden saved the life of a CHP officer while firing uponand disabling a suspect. Sixteen California gamewardens have been killed in the line of duty, half fromgunfire.”

In most cases whether on land or water, poachers andmany commercial outfits have had previous violationsin poaching and over-harvesting resources as well asweapons and drug charges to possession, cultivationand transportation of illegal drugs. The danger is thencompounded with a lack of support to adequatelymanage the resources such as salmon, a species whosesurvival is in question.

Besides poaching there is hazardous material and oilspills in Northern California’s San Francisco Bay Areathat goes unchecked because of a lack of manpower.This part of the state supports the greater part of thesalmon fishing industry and even more severely north ofSacramento. The San Francisco Bay is the entrance tothe majority of tributaries through the SacramentoDelta system that lead to critical salmon spawningareas. Now with a moratorium on commercial salmonfishing there is an even greater need for lawenforcement protection of this vital resource.

In 2007 the Cosco Busan cargo ship hit a supportpassing under the San Francisco Bay Bridge spilling53,000 gallons of fuel into the bay, destroying habitatincluding injuring and killing wildlife. DFG Office ofSpill Prevention Response (OSPR) received“overwhelming response from the public to assist withthe care of the oiled birds from Cosco Busan oil spill”.

Undermanned department meansunprotected resources for

CaliforniansCFGWA believes they would need 200 game wardensfor oil spills, 200 game wardens on bear poachingcases, 200 game wardens on abalone poaching, 200more on sturgeon poaching and 200 on salmonpoaching,” said CFGWA representative Jerry Karnow.“To effectively recruit and retain officers DFG needs tobe able to offer a comparable wage to have ability toappropriately attract game wardens to fill positions.”

Assemblyman Jared Huffman of the BudgetSubcommittee in May of 2007 showed his strongsupport of field game wardens protection ofCalifornia’s resources and wildlife in the letter ofsupport declaring DFG game wardens as “highlyeducated and trained law enforcement who focus theirefforts on illegal activities that adversely affect thestate’s wildlife and natural resources.”

In trying to persuade the legislature to increase fundingfor salary parity for game wardens, Huffman alsomentioned that “the underground trade in wildlifeflourishes in California: specifically abalone andsturgeon are illegally captured and sold without everleaving California borders.” And in a pointed reminderto the newly developed MLPA’s by the administration,Huffman stated in the letter, “The state must have theresources to effectively recruit, retain and compensatethe DFG Wardens necessary to implement this newMLPA program. For nearly 15 years the DFG has soughtto bring the salaries of its law enforcement officersinto parity with salaries for the comparable lawenforcement positions…California’s reduced GameWarden force has had a direct negative impact uponour fisheries, wildlife, water quality, public safety and ahealthy outdoor heritage.” Eleven assembly membersthat represent specific districts adjacent to the PacificOcean signed the letter.

Photo courtesy Mother Jones

Aerial view of Cosco Busan Oil Spill on November 7, 2007

On November 7, 2007 the cargo ship, Cosco Busan hitthe Bay Bridge at approximately 8:30 am on its way tothe Golden Gate that spilled 53,000 gallons of fuel in tothe San Francisco Bay. The spill created untold damagesand recovery efforts by OSPR of vital wildlife andhabitat that the bay supports.

Photo courtesy US Coast Guard

One of the biggest problems hampering efforts forgame warden recruitment has been the wardens parentunion CAUSE/CSLEA. “We have not seen where ourparent union has done much of anything the pastseveral years to try and increase the number of gamewardens in California even though we are dead last instaffing per capita in North America. Our parent unionhas hung us out to dry and is actually impeding theCFGWA efforts to try to increase our warden stafflevels,” said CFGWA representative Bob Orange. “Theyhave kicked the CFGWA representative off their boardof directors and sued to seize our Warden Associationmembers dues funding. They have prohibited gamewardens from working with our constituents andsupporters on problems, this includes but is not limitedto, National Rifle Association, Sierra Club, Mule DeerFoundation, Trout Unlimited, Safari Club International,Natural Resources Defense Council, Ducks Unlimited,and Act For Animals amongst many others.”

Without legislative support and support from thegovernor, DFG enforcement could be decimated and theresources of California at risk of damage and depletion.“Although our parent union has kicked out the CFGWAthey still take nearly $200,000 a year in dues from 200officers. They have not met with our DFG Director,Chief of Patrol, Resources Secretary to go over issuesand concerns. The union also would not endorse SenateBill 695,which would have given Wardens pay paritywith other like enforcement officers,” said Orange.

“There is a simple fix to increase Warden staffing andstart adequately protecting the states natural resourcesagain,” said Orange. “This is to allow the few GameWardens of this state to belong in a bargaining unioncomprised solely of other state peace officers such asPeace Officers of California. Currently we are in a unionin which the vast majority are non-sworn personnelwhere our Association is shunned. If we were allowedto be in a sworn officer only union along with the otherstate peace officers it would unequivocally solve ourproblems. We are the state’s oldest law enforcementofficers with Wardens being around since 1871. Thiswould be the long term solution if GovernorSchwarzenegger’s Administration would support it”.

A look at a bleak future forCalifornia wildlife, natural

resources and water quality

Unless this problem is resolved quickly and wardennumbers are increased significantly further damage tostate resources will occur when the general public andeven those from other states get news that Californiamay again be reducing the size of the game wardenforce rather than increasing it. These valuableCalifornia assets will come under attack by poachersand reach unprecedented levels of illegaltransportation and sales of wildlife and resources notto mention destroying populations of species at risk.

The state’s resources will be at the mercy of blackmarketers in bear parts, salmon, crab and lobster,abalone and sturgeon, bald eagles and any otherwildlife illegal to take or hunt.

The state is at a critical point in terms of wildlifeprotection especially for natural resources issues thathave been monopolized by a highly caustic anddramatic debate concerning water rights and waterquality all across the state of California. The NaturalResources agency released information that if theprojected 70 percent of normal runoff average isreached it will be the 10th driest 3-year period onrecord if the climate remains dry.

As part of their duties for Department of HomelandSecurity (DHS) “(Game) Wardens patrol the CaliforniaAqueduct, All American Canal, Coachella Canal andother water delivery systems as a routine part ofpatrol,” said Orange. “No other law enforcementagency does that. We routinely patrol dams and powerplants, as it is a regular part of the beat. Fishermen fishat powerhouses and wardens do long term surveillancesat dams and power plants as a matter of routine. Theywould quickly notice anything different in a moment.”“I’ve received training from FBI agents themselves onhomeland security and eco-terrorism. We receiveroutine alerts and bulletins from the office of homelandsecurity and FBI through emails.

In addition to the damage that will occur to wildlife andwater supplies, on April 21 the state voted to close the2009 recreational salmon season for a second year,while commercial fishing still is experiencing amoratorium. DFG determined the loss to be $279million and 2,690 California jobs.

California has a great deal to protect and protection hasto be paramount to the California Legislature and tothe citizens of the state. In a February 2006 story inNational Geographic titled “California’s Wild Crusade”by Virginia Morell it states that California is “one of onlyfive (geographical areas globally) with a Mediterraneanclimate of hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters” andsupports 3,488 native plant species 60 percent ofwhich can only be found in California.

The black market is currently making hundreds ofmillions of dollars selling California’s resources as theydwindle before the residents of a state that only threeyears ago was rated as “one of the 34 hotspots ofbiodiversity” globally by Conservation International.That rating can change quickly and irrevocably formany species if game warden numbers stay stagnant orpossibly decline. SOU leader Lt. Ponting believes thatDFG enforcement has “run silent and deep so manyyears”, because game wardens do what they dobecause they love the job and what it stands for.“We don’t need glory or recognition,” said Lt. Ponting.”We have dedication, experience and talent, but we’relacking in numbers. The public and legislators need toknow what we’re about and what we’re trying to do.”

Mary Carpenter is a free lancephoto journalist that researchesand reports on conservationand environmental public policyand legislation. She is currentlyworking on her Master’s inCriminal Justice and PublicSafety.

maryc19602003@yahoo.com orcall (530) 680-2216

DFG Wardens on the P/B Thresher working withU.S. Coast Guard on a lifesaving mission while onlone patrol of MPA’s

California State Park Rangers and Game Wardensworking side by side with the Nevada CountyNarcotics Task Force investigating and eradicatinga large Mexican National dope garden adjacent tothe South Yuba State Park. Illegal pesticides andfertilizers, including deer repellant, found on site.