Wardens in the News - A Four Part Series by Feather Publishing, Plumas County, California
Part One - Wardens are few and Far Between
Part Two - Decline in Game Wardens Puts Wildlife at Risk
Part Three - Danger on the High Seas
Part Four - DFG enforcement means life or death for endangered species
Part Five - California game wardens train others around the world
Film crews capture wardens in action in Plumas County
Part Six - “How many people in California know that commercial poaching of wildlife and resources was second only to the drug trade?”
California game wardens are few and far between
By Mary Carpenter Staff Writer
mcarpenter@plumasnews.com
"We are environmental cops for the state," said Bob Orange, California Fish and Game warden in Plumas County and president of the state's Game Wardens Association.
In a letter to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the California Legislature in March 2006, Orange expresses the need for more game wardens and for an increase in their pay scale, which falls well below other law enforcement agencies in the state.
“Fish and Game wardens, empowered by the law, protect the state’s natural resources,” he writes.
Orange, a resident of Plumas County whose father was also a game warden, has watched the number of Fish and Game wardens dwindle to three patrolman who protect the wildlife and natural resources in Plumas and Lassen counties. In the late 1970s, the area boasted a total of eight wardens with five reserve wardens.
Orange also emphasizes in his letter that "as critical a role as we have, wardens themselves have become a vanishing force, marginalized by political whims … and victimized by economic pressure. As warden numbers diminish, so do the wildlife, fisheries, and environment in California."
Sacramento politics
A proponent for an increase in game wardens for the state of California, Assemblyman Dave Cogdill (R) of the 25th District put it best when he wrote a July 18, 2006 op-ed piece titled “California’s Game Wardens An Endangered Species."
According to his editorial, "The Department of Fish (and) Game currently has just 192 game wardens out on field patrol.” These 192 game wardens cover the entire state. Cogdill emphasizes that "the lack of wardens also places California's economy at risk."
He writes, "Many rural communities depend upon outdoor industries such as boating, hiking, and camping as the backbone of their local community."
In a state with one of the most diverse wildlife populations, the increased amount of poaching and polluting, due to lack of field patrol by game wardens in California, has taken an economic toll on the state's environment and economy, Orange said.
Since there is such a considerable lack of field patrol and subsequent licensing enforcement, licensing money that the state depends on to protect wildlife and the environment has dwindled. The state's wildlife has been at the mercy of poachers, Orange said.
Cogdill points out that in the course of their duties Fish and Game wardens "routinely encounter and shut down dangerous drug operations, such as meth labs, and increasingly play a part in homeland security operations."
Schwarzenegger proclaimed himself to be a supporter of the environment when he stated at the World Environment Day Conference on June 1, 2005, "Growing up in Austria, I was surrounded by clean air, crystal clear streams and lakes, magnificent mountains and much more.
"And I found all this beauty also when I came to California. In fact, I'm like so many people who immigrated here. I came for the opportunity and stayed for the beauty.
"And today here in California we continue to do everything it takes to protect our environment and keep that beauty.
"Because our environmental heritage is just as strong and important as our legacy of opportunity."
Despite this professed dedication to environmental issues, the governor “vetoed adding 50 additional game wardens. And in this year's budget for 2006-2007 that was just submitted by Schwarzenegger, he has not provided for any increase of game warden positions,” said Orange. “As of today, we have also lost 11 more wardens to other agencies and occupations, which actually leaves us with fewer game wardens to patrol the entire state’s natural resources, wildlife, environmental pollution (some of which is due to oil refinery pollution) poaching and illegal commercial fishing operations as well as undiscovered drug transportation and distribution operations.
"Consequently, game warden staffing levels remain the same as the number of wardens in the 1950s — not per capita, but the actual number of wardens across the state. As of now, California’s ratio of game wardens to the state’s general population is most likely the worst in the 50 states, a particularly sad state of affairs considering the fact that California contains some of the most diverse wildlife and fisheries resources in the nation.
"The governor has vetoed increasing warden positions in the last six years and we have lost one-third of the game wardens in the state due to retirement, other agencies and the fact that we can't recruit because we can't compete with other law enforcement pay scales," emphasized Orange.
"Because of these factors, our level of service to the public is pathetic. We do not have the manpower to respond to the necessary issues in all areas and two out of three calls that come into our dispatch center do not receive a timely response.”
In 1967, there were six game wardens patrolling Lassen and Plumas counties plus five reserve wardens. Today, there are only three game wardens in this area, and one of those three is on medical leave, which leaves only two game wardens to patrol both counties. Considering the continued growth in these two counties, that leaves a large gap for poachers to monopolize.
"We went to the legislature asking them to fix the problem. The legislature asked us to give them an amount, and although we never gave them a specific amount, we asked them to bring us up to parity with other law enforcement agencies," said Orange.
The Assembly had proposed a $10 million budget designated specifically for DFG to enhance warden compensation, recruitment and retention. The Senate "proposed even more for this purpose … $17.5 million," writes Sheila James Kuehl, chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Water.
"While the legislature ultimately agreed to the administration's more general compromise language pertaining to recruitment and retention … it was with the implicit understanding that the needs of the wardens would be satisfactorily addressed."
Kuehl also called for a "report of plans to address more general recruitment and retention issues," which is required as part of the budget process. She also asked that "one such study focus on the chronic insufficient funding, understaffing, and inadequate compensation that have decimated the ranks of DFG wardens."
Despite many letters sent to Schwarzenegger's attention in the past two years by other Department of Fish and Game wardens within the state, as well as from Montana and Texas, the Plumas County district attorney, David Cogdill and other California legislators, and lobbyists, DFG is at a stage that is almost fatal to the organization as well as to the environment, according to an article in the publication, California Fish and Game Warden Expose.
"Basically, we have launched a grassroots campaign which has taught a lot of DFG wardens how the government operates in its budget processes not only for game wardens, but also for other state employees. It has been with the help of sportsmen and our constituents that we hope to reverse this loss of wildlife protection in the state," said Orange.
"If DFG wardens are to remain a viable public safety and natural resource protection agency, it is critical for the Legislature and the administration to ensure that the 2006-07 budget agreement is honored as soon as possible."
Orange said he never thought he would be involved at this level of politics in government. However, after enforcing wildlife laws for the past 28 years, and seeing the rapid decline of the marine environment, Orange said he knew he had to do something to stop poaching and reverse the negative impact on the natural resources in the state of California.
Editor's Note: Next week, Bob Orange, president of the California Game Wardens Association discusses how wildlife, inland and on the seas, has suffered from a lack of protection and enforcement.
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Decline in game wardens puts wildlife at risk
By Mary Carpenter Staff Writer
mcarpenter@plumasnews.com
"A hunter is a person who engages in lawful activity, and a poacher is a criminal who steals your natural resources," said California Department of Fish and Game Warden Jerry Karnow, legislative liaison for the statewide game warden association.
A little-known aspect of Fish and Game warden work is night-flight surveillance.
Last September, Fish and Game Warden-Pilot Bob Morgan and Warden Bob Orange, were flying Eastern Plumas County.
Orange, who is the president of the game warden association, observed spotlights and directed Karnow and Wardens Zeke Aubrey and Bill Miller to drive in and make contact with the suspects.
"When we approached, one of the suspects ran, carrying a backpack," said Karnow.
Following the suspect, Karnow drove off the main dirt road. It was dark and he was hampered by trees and bushes.
"I hit a divot in the ground, and when I bounced up, I hit my head on the roof-mounted spotlight handle. I continued on to where I last saw the suspect disappear into the trees. At that point, I felt a heavy rush of blood over my right eye and couldn't see, although it really didn't hurt. I put my left hand over the wound and could tell it was a horrific head injury because there was a lot of blood inside the vehicle and covering the lenses on the binoculars that were hanging around my neck," said Karnow.
The suspect was finally located in the woods. In Awbrey's opinion, "It was a scary moment. He could have killed us when he came out of the trees in the dark. He fought with us, was resisting arrest and appeared to be going for the gun that was behind his back that I could see the butt of. We put him in a control hold, handcuffed and disarmed him. He was also carrying a backpack with methamphetamine inside."
Karnow's injuries required 33 internal and external stitches "because the skin was split so wide," he said.
This is just one example of the risks game wardens assume when they approach hunters, who are always carrying loaded weapons, sometimes legal and sometimes not.
"A majority of the times when we have a night flight, we make arrests in Plumas County. The fact that we don't even have enough pilots to man the planes means that we can't perform necessary night flights to locate spotlighters, which is one of our most successful operations," said Orange, a veteran of over 150 night-flight operations.
Another successful operation uses a deer decoy. According to Fish and Game protocol, "to run a robotic deer, or decoy, operation there has to be at least three wardens present, and to have a good safe operation, you should have four," said Orange.
"To get four wardens in one place is extremely difficult considering the fact that there are so few wardens in the state. Although, when we ran these operations last fall in Shasta County, we made arrests 100 percent of the time," he said.
Night-flight operations have at least a 50 percent success rate; however, "there are always at least two persons per vehicle that are spotlighting. That means that in each rig is at least two arrests or more," said Orange, "which averages out to at least one arrest or more per night flight."
According to Fish and Game statistics, both methods are effective tools.
Protecting wildlife from poachers is a primary concern for wardens. When wildlife goes unprotected, it is at the mercy of poachers, and poaching becomes prominent when there is a lack of patrol by wardens.
"The Eastern Tehama deer herd populations in Plumas County have dropped tremendously due in part to a lack of warden enforcement. In the last 20 years, the deer herd has decreased by more than half," said Orange.
"We use the decoy on traditional hunting roads and after legal hunting hours or in illegal hunting zones. We also put them (decoys) in game refuges, and they are catching hunters who are predisposed to taking deer inside refuges," he said. "Some of the time they are hunting with the wrong deer tag and shoot because of the opportunity."
Bear poaching is also a major problem for game wardens in Plumas County.
While there are specific rules that govern the taking of bear, they must be monitored.
In August 2006, a Plumas County houndsman reported to Fish and Game that he had found the carcasses of two infant bear cubs in the woods of Poplar Valley. Both cubs were shot in the head.
Awbrey investigated and concluded, "It was someone familiar with the area," he said. "It was an old railroad trail that usually only locals would be familiar with."
During his investigation, Awbrey interviewed many locals and sat out near the site at night "because I felt that the subject who shot the cubs would come back, which he did the following week."
"He was hunting deer when I contacted him in the same location where the cubs were found, and at that time I noticed blood on the back of the pickup truck he was driving.
"I asked him some simple questions and checked his tag, which did not include a bear tag number on the license. I then asked him if he shot a female bear, and he answered yes. I asked him if he was using a 30-30 Winchester caliber, the same that was found at the scene with the cubs, and he said he was using that type of rifle.
"I asked him, 'Why did you shoot a female with two cubs?' And his answer was that he was defending himself.
"He showed me where he shot the bear, which was about 50 yards from where the cubs were found, and then he took me to where he gutted the bear. It had been boned out and skinned as if he would eat it.
"He also claimed that he did not shoot the cubs, although three shell casings were missing from his box of ammo, which was a brand-new box.
"We have three dead animals, and his shell casings are the same caliber as those found at the site," concluded Awbrey.
Legitimate bear hunters and other local hunters in the area were "livid," said Awbrey, "that a mother and her cubs were shot."
This particular incident is still under investigation while officials wait for DNA samples and forensics to match the mother with the cubs.
This brings up another major problem with Fish and Game's enforcement branch. "Our wildlife forensics laboratory in Sacramento currently has a backlog of at least six months because of lack of funding and staff," said Orange.
Although many animal rights activists want to make bear hunting illegal, it is poachers who will continue the activity "because there will not be watchdogs monitoring those illegal activities," said Karnow.
Karnow maintains, "The vast majority of bear hunters are legal, provide millions of dollars supporting conservation, and we depend on them to report bear poaching."
Species that are fully protected by state and federal laws, such as the bald eagle, are also killed illegally every year.
Mountain lions, which are also fully protected, are sometimes subject to depredation permits that are occasionally issued when the lions take livestock or pets. Bald eagles, however, are not one of these species, and are generally shot for the value of their claws and feathers.
In one of Karnow's cases, a woman driving the road along Bullard's Bar Reservoir near the eagles' winter roost found a bald eagle on the side of the road that was shot, although still alive, and contacted Fish and Game.
Karnow captured the eagle and, "The next day I got him to the veterinarian, who found three pellets in the bird," he said.
"A significant infection had set in his neck from a pellet and he ended up dying. The eagle was then taken to a forensics lab so that we could try to locate persons of interest and possible suspects to make comparisons," said Karnow.
"Resources are our natural heritage," emphasizes Karnow. "Legal hunters and fishermen spend millions of dollars to protect that resource."
Game wardens are conservationists, and like many other conservationists, they continue to spar with political and economic stability that may be in contention with human need.
"If game wardens aren't out there protecting the resources of this state, nobody else will," said Orange. "Because of the lack of wardens, many of our environmental regulations have not been enforced.
"When these regulations are not enforced, there will continue to be a decline in wildlife populations as well as in the quality of the environment in California, which possesses some of the greatest biodiversity in the world," said Bob Orange.
Next week: "Game wardens are so few and far between that they must drive hundreds of miles to assist each other," said Orange. Like many other inland game wardens, Orange and Awbrey spend time on the ocean to provide backup for other game wardens assigned to work the diverse marine environment, investigating illegal commercial fishing activities and homeland security.
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| Danger on the high seas
By Mary Carpenter
Staff Writer
mcarpenter@plumasnews.com
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“Game wardens are so few and far between that they must drive hundreds of miles to assist each other,” said Fish and Game Warden Bob Orange, “leaving their own areas unprotected against poachers.”
Like many inland game wardens, Orange and Zeke Awbrey, who patrol Plumas and Lassen counties, spend time on the ocean to provide backup for wardens assigned to work the marine environment, investigating illegal commercial fishing activities and homeland security issues.
Game wardens in California are dwindling to the point of devastation. With them go the state’s diverse wildlife, unprotected and at the mercy of poachers, trophy hunters and black marketers.
Not enough patrol
Low wages and the high cost of living in coastal areas make it difficult for Fish and Game to keep marine wardens.
Lt. Keith Long, skipper of the patrol vessel Marlin in San Francisco, will soon lose his only boarding officer because of this.
“It’s a zoo out here,” said Long, “and now I’m losing one officer because of the cost of living in the Bay Area. His family just had a baby and combined with the cost of living are the baby-sitting expenses that can’t be met.”
Although the issue has been brought to the attention of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, he vetoed 50 new warden positions that would barely bring Fish and Game the numbers it needs to properly handle its job responsibilities.
When wardens board a vessel, they almost always do so with a single boarding officer who must go alone on the fishing boat to check holds and compartments. This puts them at the risk. At times, they face commercial fishermen, some illegal, who have a wide collection of weapons at their disposal - handguns, rifles, gaffs, hooks, knives and nets - that can be used against the officers.
If that weren’t dangerous enough, many times wardens must work and board in rough water. This puts the officers at the mercy of fishermen who are at times confrontational when they are caught breaking the law.
In addition to these hazards, there are constant problems with prosecuting these criminals who have stolen valuable resources and committed crimes against protected species.
Long reports that “We usually have about eight to 10 sea lions shot a year, and some people try to catch great whites, which are also protected. We had two people on a salmon troller shooting at sea lions, although there are permits for seal bombs to scare seal lions from taking fish. This will only scare the sea lions, not kill them, but the fishermen don’t like filling out the logs, so they just shoot the sea lions, assuming no one will find out.”
“DFG has seven long-range patrol vessels based along the California coast, which often patrol three to five days at a time. They are responsible for monitoring the incredibly diverse fisheries along the 1,100-mile coastline up to 200 miles out to sea,” said Orange. “As dire as the warden shortage is inland, it is even more critical in patrolling our ocean resources,” added Orange.
These vessels routinely find approximately 25 to 30 commercial fishing violations a month, although this number fluctuates between “boats we check versus boats that go unchecked,” said Lt. John Suchil, of the patrol vessel Swordfish out of Ventura.
Money lost in dismissals
In San Francisco, commercial fishing is a multi-million dollar industry. The state is losing valuable dollars and resources that will lead to the decimation of the industry, wildlife and environment because of poaching, according to Long. “Since Dec. 1, 17 of 25 violations have been dismissed. Poachers are winning the battle in the court system,” he said.
Violations amount to approximately $500 per citation but can go to a maximum of $1,000. Combined with penalty assessments, which is money tacked onto the fine by the court used for court costs, court-building construction funds, district attorney training, record keeping, these individual violations can bring the fines to approximately $1,400 - $2,800.
“If we had court liaison officers checking court events and citations, and assigned to six to nine counties, we wouldn’t be having so many cases dismissed,” said Long. “We simply don’t have the time to deal with these issues if we are to patrol the waters looking for these violators.”
“In September, the governor signed an act on marine protection areas, which are game refuges in the ocean,” said Long. “But we aren’t able to patrol these refuges enough because of low staffing. There are legitimate and law-abiding commercial fisherman who are very upset because poaching commercial fishermen will go in and have an unfair economic advantage over legitimate fishing.”
There are approximately 66,000 fish businesses in California. Tasked to regulate and monitor this industry are fewer than two dozen marine wardens. In addition, inland wardens such as Awbrey and Orange are detailed to assist these officers, which means they must leave their own patrol area to the mercy of inland poachers.
“The staffing shortages aboard these vessels result in over-fishing and devastatingly low salmon and ocean fisheries,” said Orange.
In December, Orange served on board the patrol vessel Marlin with Long in San Francisco. Currently, the Marlin is working the crab, herring and sturgeon commercial fishing violations, in addition to pollution and homeland security patrol.
“These patrol vessels routinely patrol the salmon, halibut, squid, herring, tuna, abalone, crab and other valuable ocean catches,” said Orange.
Hazardous detail
“The work on these boats is very dangerous. Many people hear about commercial fishermen having one of the most dangerous jobs; however, what needs to be remembered is that the wardens working these details share the same dangers and more,” emphasized Orange.
“Vessels that are monitored and boarded may have foreign registry. This requires additional special knowledge to efficiently handle those issues.
“These boats also work with our warden-pilots who must patrol alone over the ocean. They are looking for commercial boats inside restricted areas, illegal gear, and pollution from petroleum products that leak from the boats, among other violations,” he said.
In addition to monitoring illegal fishing activity, the planes monitor oil tankers to make sure they stay far enough offshore in case of spills.
“These planes routinely fly below 200-foot altitudes to be able to identify, accurately, the violations and the vessels themselves. When violations are observed, they dispatch one of our long-range P/Vs to board and investigate,” said Orange.
Other things the planes monitor are any odd or unusual activities that may pose a threat to homeland security as well as crimes against protected species.
This type of work requires very specialized knowledge and personnel.
Low staffing levels put remaining personnel at a severe disadvantage in reducing dangerous confrontations with violators. An example of this is Awbrey’s recent situation on the Thresher that occurred just before he transferred to the Plumas County district.
Confrontation
“We boarded a boat because of a tip from a scuba diver who saw nets out just before white sea-bass season began,” said Awbrey.
“We went out the following day, which was the day before the season began, because they were reportedly gill netting the bass early. We didn’t think we were going to make contact until we got a return on the radar and found a commercial boat gill netting 90 miles offshore at the Cortez Banks.
"We videotaped the activity and watched them for a while before making contact. They were upset because we were seizing their fish but were compliant at the time,” he said.
“We photographed and counted the fish that were in the holds and in the freezers. Then during the night while being escorted back to the mainland, they began throwing fish overboard to destroy evidence. We saw a trail of fish, so we netted them and boarded the boat again, at night.”
Awbrey relates that during the night the crew was upset that they were caught again and from then on it was a tense situation.
“Our inflatable had developed a hole during the time we boarded them the first time, so we pulled the Thresher alongside and one boarding officer went on board the commercial boat,” he said.
"Although they were obviously upset that they were caught in the act, they seemed compliant until the captain turned his back on the boarding officer to go into the cabin where there were two firearms inside that I could see from where I was at on top of the Thresher. I pulled my rifle on him and told him to stop, and he backed away from the firearms. I really thought I might have to shoot someone then because of the rifles and handguns that were within reach of the crew and because of the fact that they had become confrontational.”
Regardless of this activity and the fact that the boat yielded not only illegal catch but nine guns that included two high-powered rifles, 38-, 45- and 22-caliber pistols, the San Diego court system reduced the violation and returned the boats, nets, equipment, fish and firearms.
“22s are routinely used by illegal commercial fishermen to shoot seals, dolphins, pelicans and sea lions (all fully protected species) that go after their catch,” said Awbrey.
“When guys hunt and fish illegally, then pay penal violations but do not pay Fish and Game violations, they can get new licenses and tags,” said Awbrey. “A lot of money was lost on that operation in addition to wildlife because we can’t patrol enough.”
Because of the complacency on the part of some courts, violators do not take these citations seriously and will continue their illegal activities; heedless of the destruction of the environment and wildlife.
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This letter was written to Govenor Arnold Schwarzenegger by Cicada Productions after their exposure to the Warden Crisis while filming "Crime Scene Wild with the California Fish and Game Wardens. Watch your local listings and this site for more information about "Crime Scene Wild" air dates.
Please click on the letter image to download the pdf version of this letter of support. |
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DFG enforcement means life or death for endangered species
By Mary Carpenter Staff Writer mcarpenter@plumasnews.com
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“As wardens we hear that legislators recognize there is a problem with the understaffing of Fish and Game as well as low wages and damage to the environment and wildlife in California,” said game warden Jake Bushey of the Burney District.
“We fill the niche in law enforcement that nobody else does. We patrol and regulate those who prey on the resources such as salmon, sturgeon, deer, abalone, as well as other wildlife critical to the environment and the environment itself,” he said.
“In 1872, the government in California saw a need even then to protect the resources and wildlife in this state, which is why the Department of Fish and Game was created,” said Bushey. “When it’s gone, it’s gone, and it will cost millions of dollars to try and make it come back.”
"We’re wondering why, if state government recognizes the problem, something permanent has not been done about it. If no one disagreed, then it should be the easiest thing in the world to fix. What the governor and the public need to understand is that without wardens there will be no wildlife. The government will shut down other fisheries if they aren’t protected, and that’s what happened to the salmon.
"The fisheries and wildlife cannot be protected by a handful of wardens. The problem has been going on for 30 years, and it would be wonderful if this could be Governor Schwarzenegger’s legacy. He could say ‘I’m the guy that fixed it; I’m the guy that protected the wildlife and natural resources for future generations to enjoy.’"
President of the California Fish and Game Wardens Association, Bob Orange, emphasized, “California game wardens welcome the opportunity to educate the public about the difficulties that lay ahead in ensuring our natural heritage.”
Bushey, who is a third-generation game warden, has been patrolling the Burney area for approximately eight of the 30 years that he has been a California Fish and Game warden. He realizes that as few game wardens as there are and with the increase of growth in California, there will not be much to look at as far as wildlife and landscape.
Resources destroyed
“People who are non-consumptive users (do not hunt or fish) come to this area to visit and say they love it up here, then find pollution and no wildlife, and don’t come back,” he said.
Among the duties of regulating hunting and fishing, game wardens also monitor the area for illegal trash dumping and pollution, especially of waterways like rivers, streams, creeks and lakes.
“There is so much that game wardens do and places we go that other law enforcement do not,” said Bushey. “Once I get off the highway, I seldom see any law enforcement except sometimes Forest Service officers, but usually I am alone.”
Methamphetamine labs and marijuana gardens have an adverse affect on the environment and wildlife. “Growers dam up creeks and take all the water out for the plants. They use fertilizers and pesticides that get into the water source of the crop that competes for water with the natural vegetation in the area,” said Bushey.
“They (the growers and meth labs) also kill animals illegally to eat and because the animals eat the plants. It used to be that there was some control over it and growers started growing indoors, but now they are growing large amounts of plants, 5,000 to 40,000 on a lot of plantations, because they feel if they plant enough of them, they won’t lose all of them to law enforcement.
"The effects of these plants and labs show up downstream in pollutants and damage to the environment and wildlife. The problem is these operations are so remote we could only patrol them if we had more wardens.”
“Our time is so packed that we have something going every day, such as complaints, pollution calls, lion sighting calls, poaching calls, that we are constantly working. This makes our patrolling time limited, and if we have to go to court and perform other duties such as training, we’re not patrolling,” he emphasized.
Homeland Security
As part of homeland security, powerhouses are a strategic point of interest to terrorists and play a vital role in maintaining the daily lives of Americans in business and at home.
“We patrol these areas as homeland security as well and did so before 9/11,” said Bushey, “because that’s where hunting and fishing occurs.”
Lt. John Suchil of the patrol vessel Swordfish said, “When 9/11 occurred, our former Fish and Game Assistant Chief Frank Spear had organized patrol vessels and personnel to rotate 24-hour shifts checking all boats in the ocean. Now we can only patrol on a limited basis because of our funding and personnel issues. The bottom line is we need more game wardens and a decent salary because of the multiple duties and issues we deal with.”
At this time, there are only 12 wardens specifically assigned to patrolling the ocean’s resources, homeland security and commercial fishing, and many of those employees are scheduled to retire.
“Other strategic points of interest that wardens monitor are aqueducts, transmission line corridors, power plants, bridges, dams and ports along the coast. The monitoring of these involve covert, long-term surveillance in which the wardens watch for illegal activity,” said Orange.
Endangered species
In 1981 Klamath sturgeon season was closed because there was not enough information about the population, due to the fact that so many snaggers (illegal fishermen who use large hooks that are thrown out and catch on salmon and sturgeon and are jerked out of the water) had seriously depleted the number of green sturgeon.
“At one time you could go down onto the Klamath and see them jumping out of the water. It was a very impressive sight, but that hasn’t been the case for a long time,” said Bushey who spent 18 years patrolling the Happy Camp District that included the Klamath River.
“Now there is a problem with salmon on the Klamath and in the ocean because of low populations,” he said. “Fishing adult salmon is illegal and there is only a limited sport season.”
Thirteen counties in California are declared disaster areas for salmon because of low populations.
“People still poach salmon because our ability to protect them is diminished. It can’t be regulated with the warden numbers we have at this time,” he said. “Illegal fishermen get them before they get to their spawning areas so that they can get the eggs to use as bait for steelhead fishing, or they eat them or just catch them for sport.”
Destruction of Red Abalone population
Game warden Gary Combes is responsible for the patrolling the Fort Bragg District in Mendocino County, monitoring anadromous drainages (any waterways that drain into the ocean) from the shore or using small patrol boats and rigid hull inflatables to protect the abalone population.
“Abalone is the issue up here, the hot issue and a big black market problem,” said Combes.
Northern California has the largest Red Abalone population in the world and also the most valuable.
Over 50 years ago, the state of California saw the need to protect this species and has been regulated for sport fishing only, unlike other populations of Red Abalone in Australia and South Africa, where they have been decimated by commercial fishing.
Commercial take of abalone is illegal in the Fort Bragg District because it has taken such a large toll on the population. The problem continues however because there is not enough manpower to figure out how much is poached. Although there is a legal sport take, abalone is often poached by commercial divers who realize that there is not enough enforcement in the area.
“We received a Cal-Tip on four individuals taking abalone illegally,” said Combes. “The poachers would surreptitiously drop off guys at points along the shore and they would pick them up later.”
“We brought in other wardens to form a Special Operations Unit and followed them visually while they drove around a while. Then three of them bailed out of the vehicle and the vehicle parked on the street acting as a lookout while the other three were in the water.”
One warden watched them haul something up the bluff and then haul something else up. The lookout got back in the truck while the others changed out of their diving gear and into street clothes in the field, and they all got into the truck and began driving south on Highway 20 towards Sacramento. We pulled them over onto a side street and found them with 73 abalone, although the legal take is only three abalone per person.”
The abalone season begins April 1 and stops for the month of July to allow the abalone to rest due to the increased number of minus tides or low tide time of the year, then begins again in August until November. There are also specific regulations on how abalone can be taken legally. SCUBA equipment is not allowed, specific tools must be used, must be reattached if they are not legal size (seven inches), no commercial harvesting, limited sport take only.
“There is a very finite population of abalone and there are thousands of people that are competing for them so they are being detached and reattached a lot. Failure to reattach properly whether legal or not is critical because abalone are hemophiliacs and you risk killing them if they are not attached quickly, and they attach pretty quickly."
They also need to be detached with a special tool that is very specific in shape and size so that you will not risk injury to them or killing them,” said Combes
Some people just take over the limit and want larger sizes so if they don’t measure up (at least 7 inches) sometimes they just toss them away or onto rocks. In order for abalone to be reproductive they must have 2,000 abalone per hector (approximately 2.47 acres),” said Combes, “or the population won’t be successful because of the current battering the sperm and the eggs.”
Heavy fines and jail time are imposed for black market violations like poaching abalone, sturgeon and bear. These violations are considered conspiracy and are felony violations.
“In these cases the abalone are transported by airplane, boat and trucks and at times we have to check all inbound, outbound air transportation, shipping manifests and trucking industries bills of laden. There are so many other things we could do but don’t have the time or personnel to cover it, which is really quite frustrating,” said Combes.
Because of the felony charges associated with this type of poaching and black market activity, working alone can become very dangerous for anyone working one of these details alone.
“Several years ago I came across a group of five guys at four in the morning. The group had walked up behind me and followed me up to my vehicle and then tried to run over me with their truck,” said Combes.
I had to pull my firearm out and tell them to stop. It was very scary, and then I find out that one of the guys had just gotten out of prison. I called for police backup but no one responded. About an hour later someone from my agency from another area got to me. It’s nice to have backup but the problem is that we go where they (police and sheriff) don’t.”
This group that had managed to take a lot of abalone to Mexico to sell but when we found they had come back we caught them,” he said. “They spent a couple years in jail and lost their sport and commercial fishing privileges for life. The fines amounted to $60,000 and we seized their wet suits, gear and donated them to a non-profit organization although we still have the boat in storage.”
We are dealing with a very specific species. It is very dynamic and complicated to regulate the commercial industry of the fish business from the boat to the consumer. It usually deals with a lack of or incorrect licensing or it goes unreported. Sometimes they say they bought it from someone else or report only a partial load. They are basically ripping off the Internal Revenue Service doing this.”
What frustrates Combes most is that these poachers are stealing resources that can’t be replaced. Courts have at times been lenient, giving the poachers encouragement to repeat the activity again and again.
“A lot of these resources are very finite and we are the stewards of these resources. They belong to the people of the state as a privilege to harvest for personal and commercial use so we have to protect and regulate, but if there is not enough of us that won’t happen. Numerous fishery stocks have been fished to the point of extinction. The resources are becoming less healthy and the courts need to make penalties harsh enough so people won’t want to do it again and those who haven’t yet will think twice about trying it,” he said.
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Wardens at Work - A Photo Gallery
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California game wardens train others around the world
Film crews capture wardens in action in Plumas County
By Mary Carpenter
Staff Writer - Feather Publishing
mcarpenter@plumasnews.com |
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“I think we have run silent and deep so many years because we don’t need glory or recognition,” said Lt. Kathy Ponting, a Special Operations Unit leader for the Department of Fish and Game.
“But in doing so, we shot ourselves in the foot because of our low numbers and low wages. We have dedication, experience and talent, but we’re lacking in numbers. We need to get the story out to the public and legislators so they know what we’re about and what we’re trying to do.”
Ponting comes from a family of game wardens. and although she hunts and fishes, she has spent extensive time in the field training game wardens who do not hunt or fish but go on to become excellent wardens.
“It’s a mindset,” she said. “Most of us have a passion to protect wildlife, and some of us hunt and fish. The most important thing is to protect these resources. It’s in your heart and gut, and you have to have the ability to enforce these laws. A lot of work goes into protecting these resources, and we’re running complex investigations that are extremely interesting and new every day.
"That candidates truly care for and respect the resources and the laws is most important; the rest they will learn through training and experience. Our field officer training program has very high standards.”
Ponting regularly conducts surveillance on abalone and white-sturgeon-for-caviar poaching. She also locates suppliers of bear bile, which is processed as an Asian medicinal utilizing the bile stored in the gall bladder. Although bear hunting is legal, it is controlled, and the sale of parts of bears and mountain lions is a felony.
“We recently conducted an undercover operation in San Francisco’s Chinatown. We went into four herb shops and three of the four sold us bear bile.”
“Not all of the bear parts stay in California,” said Ponting. “China and other Asian countries buy bear parts from California because bear bile has been used by the Chinese for traditional medicines dating back centuries.
"Right now there is huge money in abalone and white sturgeon caviar because those species are slow growing and fragile and it takes them a long time to reach maturity and reproduce.
"The caviar is a delicacy bound for Eastern Europe most of the time, and the north coast of California holds one of the last populations of red abalone in the world. They were in Australia and Africa, but since they allowed commercial fishing of these species, they were decimated. The prices on the black market are huge.”
Ponting recently went to Cambodia to instruct personnel from several agencies on how to conduct investigations and evaluate crime scenes.
Wildlife protection agencies learned interrogation methods and raid planning on poachers as part of a collaboration of law enforcement agencies through 10 cooperating countries hoping to preserve their exotic wildlife that is dwindling because of poaching and black market activity.
Through the ASEAN-WEN Project, an integrated network of law enforcement agencies, customs, the police, prosecutors, specialized governmental wildlife law enforcement organizations and other relevant law enforcement agencies work to prevent the illicit hunting, harvesting and transnational trade of rare and endangered species of animals and plants.
“Ten or so East Asian countries signed an agreement as a wildlife enforcement network to put forth the effort to control the poaching and sale of tigers, bears, elephants, toucans, parrots and other animals that have medicinal value and are species that are poached and exported out of the country,” said Ponting.
"The class we put on was focused on nature crimes investigation, which I conducted with another game warden named John Nores.”
As part of the global effort to curtail illegal trafficking of endangered or protected species, Ponting and Nores instructed 34 students from agencies such as the Forestry Administration, customs police, a French civilian-military agency, and other wildlife agencies and law enforcement. Instruction covered how to conduct crime scene investigations and collect evidence, raid planning and interrogation procedures. These agencies had not had training in dealing with poachers or the black market in protected and endangered species.
“On a request from Wild Aid, we took some of their representatives on a raid with us in San Francisco, and they saw how adept we were at doing this business and saw how our talents could be used in these projects,” said Ponting
“We went over to Cambodia to train wildlife enforcement agencies to handle the problem of poaching as well as black market trade nationally and internationally,” she said. “And we went over there feeling comfortable with the subject matter.”
“At first the training was very basic and in the classroom,” said Ponting. “Then we ran them through some scenarios and made it seem as realistic as possible.”
While teaching these agencies techniques to deal with poachers, Ponting realized how advanced, thorough and highly trained the Department of Fish and Game was compared to other agencies who were responsible for wildlife protection and enforcement, globally.
“I am so proud of our department,” she said, “and I think we are one of the best agencies trained to deal with this issue. We have some very dedicated wardens, and I think we are on the cutting edge with investigation techniques and skills.”
Wardens in the United States agree that the temptation to take more than the legal limit of fish or to shoot a deer, bear or mountain lion illegally sometimes is too great for a lot of people.
Other departments experience the same problem with poachers.
Three years ago, Col. Herb Foster of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries concurred, telling an Associated Press reporter, “We’ve learned over the years what the impact of commercialization is. The temptation is to overharvest. Wildlife species generally can’t sustain a commercial market.”
In the Anchorage Daily News, Stan Pruszenski, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service special agent in Alaska, said that the danger of a bear poaching operation is that it “can make a significant impact [to the bear population] in a small area.”
Ponting believes that it is not too late to turn the tide away from the decimation of some species and the destruction of an environment that is constantly being flooded by urban growth and commercialization.
“If you give up and say we can’t fix it, then that’s the way it will be. We must look at the progress we’ve made and focus on the fact that we have made a difference in protecting these resources. I am an optimist and believe we can put the environment back on course. We have the dedication and professionalism, and through time and education, people will see what the warden force is about and what we’re trying to accomplish.”
“Most of us who get into this career could be making more money for another agency,” she said. “The low wages are what has hurt our numbers.”
“We’ve made good efforts towards changing that this year. We have a problem and we have to find a way to fix it. We are really proud to be a part of an agency that is so unique because of what we’re protecting, and it’s impressive the people we have because of what they believe in and how they work.
"People need to understand that these resources and species need protection and enforcement through us and through the judicial system. It is the only deterrent to stopping this activity that destroys this environment, the fear of getting caught.”
The producer and director of an "Animal Planet" episode that will air on the Discovery Channel in September 2007 recently sent a crew to film and document the poaching issues in Northern California.
"Just this past fall, an 'Animal Planet' crew came out and rode with myself and game wardens Jerry Karnow, Zeke Awbrey and Bill Miller, as well as rode with a warden pilot on patrol," said Plumas County Game Warden Bob Orange.
"We started early in the morning one weekend conducting surveillance on a bear bait pile," he said.
Bait piles are illegal and made up of what is considered junk food for bears and draws them into a clearing for hunters to shoot them. Since bears generally like to build up their fat for hibernation in winter, this has become a very effective tool for poachers.
"We also worked on illegal bear and deer hunters, checking for violations, and found three illegal bear kills in just one weekend in Plumas County.
"What it boiled down to was that the crew of 'Animal Planet' was amazed with amount of contacts we made with armed hunters and poachers and the amount of violations we wrote in one weekend."
Producer and director Amanda Feldon of "Crime Scene Wild," a series that is aired on the Discovery Channel's "Animal Planet," recently wrote to Governor Schwarzenegger to express her amazement at the "frightening lack of resources and support faced by wardens whom I consider to be one of the most skillful, vital and devoted services I have encountered during the making of the entire series."
Feldon went on to say that "(a)ll the people involved in the production of the series are truly appalled at the evidence we have uncovered and saddened to learn of the crucial staff shortages your service (California game wardens) is encountering, which threatens the efficacy of this vital work."
Feldon's crew also filmed in Cambodia when Lt. Ponting and game warden Nores were training agencies to deal with wildlife crime.
Feldon praises the California Department of Fish and Game instructors, saying, "The Cambodian police and customs officers participating in the course have been greatly impressed by the knowledge and expertise of their Californian counterparts, and there can be little doubt that sharing such invaluable knowledge and experience will be of long-term benefit to the survival of the planet's endangered species.
"It is very upsetting to learn that at a time when the conservation of animals is uppermost in people's minds, key services (DFG) like these are being allowed to dissipate (due to being under-funded and under-resourced)," said Feldon in her letter to the governor.
"It seems that the fish and game wardens in California are of the highest caliber in the world," she noted.
Feldon also expressed her incredulity over the fact that this "is tolerated in the state of California, and I am sure it will cause great consternation when the program is eventually watched by a worldwide audience."
This is also the film crew that went with Lt. Ponting on the surveillance of herb shops in San Francisco selling bear bile and was able to document so many of the various duties that are part of game warden responsibilities.
Bob Orange related that the crew was "amazed at the diversity of wildlife in Plumas County alone, which they highlight in the film … but also they were very upset with the lack of resources and personnel to combat the poaching that they personally experienced."
For more information about California game wardens, log on to californiafishandgame wardens.com. For recruitment and job opportunities, resources and projects, visit dfg.ca.gov.
To report poachers and polluters, call (888) DFG-CALTIP (334-2258). Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a cash reward.
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“How many people in California know that commercial poaching of wildlife and resources was second only to the drug trade?”
By Mary Carpenter Staff Writer
mcarpenter@plumasnews.com
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“How many people in California know that commercial poaching of wildlife and resources was second only to the drug trade?” asked Nancy Foley, chief of the California Department of Fish and Game’s Law Enforcement Division.
"Reptiles, plants, fish, abalone, bears, deer, mountain lions; people are always trying to take a specific kind of animal or plant for profit. It always amazes me what people will pay to own or eat these animals, and I’m in this profession,” she said.
“Wardens are in this profession because they believe in the department’s mission and the resources,” Foley continued. “Currently, we cannot be as responsive to the public and the resources as we would like to be, but it isn’t because the wardens we have aren’t working.
“It’s because there are 37.4 million people, diversity in the ecosystems, huge land and sea responsibilities, and 200 game wardens to meet the needs of the people and the resource."
Contract renegotiated
"As a result of an intervention for the game wardens on behalf of the state Legislature, and because the shortage of game wardens was too severe to wait a year for the next budget process, it allowed us to reopen the contract to meet the Legislature's intention," said DPA Communications Director Lynelle Jolley.
"We (DPA) got them a 10 percent raise immediately, and 5 percent more a year at the top steps of the pay schedule."
"Retiring wardens may also be inclined to stick around another year or two with the raises at the top steps," said Jolley.
Captain Dennis DeAnda, president of California Fish and Game Warden Supervisors and Managers Association, disagrees. "Veteran wardens more than likely won’t see the benefit of sticking around another five years without parity when they can go onto another job that pays better."
When asked how the pay raise affected the overall staffing of the department, game warden Bob Orange, president of the Game Wardens Association, said, "The increase, which brings the starting pay for wardens to $42,800, does not match most, if any, other law enforcement wage schedules in the state of California.
“Even with this pay raise, our applications for game wardens have actually dropped to historically low candidate numbers.
Santa Clara County Sheriff's Department, like DFG, requires at least 60 semester units of college, but pays a starting wage of more than $65,000 a year.
Other departments, like the California Highway Patrol, begin at approximately $57,000, and San Francisco Police Department starts at more than $64,000. The two agencies do not require college degrees or units.
Other law enforcement agencies award candidates with wage increases for having degrees.
When asked why the wardens don’t enjoy parity with their counterparts, Jolley said, "Parity is an issue that has been going on for some time with the game wardens. It's a market issue. We bargain for the employees with their union. Until parity can be justified legally, it would not be considered."
Justifying parity
Jolley explained that justifying wage parity with other law enforcement officers would mean making a comparison with other agencies and proving, in a court of law, that DFG has as critical a role as other agencies in law enforcement and public safety.
“We are always conducting investigations that deal with public safety,” said DFG legislative liaison Jerry Karnow, “that have come in as a complaint from a neighbor and involve water pollution or habitat destruction or poaching.”
According to the DPA, salaries that are too low are reflected by "small candidate pools … (and) low quality candidates … As incumbents leave for better paying jobs, staff retention problems may arise … (and) employees will feel that their services are not valued and will seek salary enhancement" and consequently "excessive resources will be spent to address" the issues.
Orange said, "Ms. Jolley states that wardens must make a comparison and justify we are law enforcement. Besides the fact that wardens have been arresting armed criminals for well over 100 years and are the oldest state law-enforcement officers, here are the latest statistics.
“From January to October 2006, fewer than 200 field game wardens in California made 315,000 contacts, issued 55,000 warnings and made over 14,000 arrests. In virtually every one of those arrests, the person was armed,” said Orange.
Karnow agrees, "There is a complete misconception of what wardens do. The public believes we’re not cops at all.
“Game wardens enforce state laws that have stiff penalties, they take people to jail for violating those laws, and the suspects are generally armed, most likely with a firearm. They make arrests without backup at all, and they work closely with prosecuting district attorneys throughout the entire criminal justice process.”
Legislative intent
"In the Senate and Assembly, the Democrats and Republicans addressed the problem of the wardens in the form of the budget to get DFG enough additional money to increase salary and benefits and to recruit and retain," said Karnow.
A letter from the California Legislature signed by Senators Dennis Hollingsworth, Wes Chesbro and Denise Moreno Ducheny and addressed to Director of Personnel Administration David Gilb asked that a "minimum of $10 million of these funds ultimately be dedicated for the purpose of compensating fish and game wardens in a manner that reflects their status as highly trained law enforcement officers, and provides for adequate retention of the existing personnel."
"The Department of Personnel negotiated with our union, but the majority of the money went to our union affiliates,” said Karnow.
In May 2006, Assemblyman Dave Cogdill, now a state senator, wrote the Budget Conference Committee prior to the last budget process. Cogdill requested that the committee “retain $17.5 million in budget funding for Department of Fish and Game” which would bring “wardens up to par with their local and state counterparts and provide funding to help fill current vacancies.”
Sixty-eight Democratic and Republican representatives signed Cogdill’s letter.
The chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Water, Sheila Kuehl, wrote David Gilb, DPA director, in July 2006 to request an allocation of $10 million “of the employee retention and compensation funds … for the exclusive purpose of compensating fish and game wardens … in a manner that reflects their status as highly trained law enforcement officers who focus their efforts on illegal activities that adversely affect the state’s wildlife and natural resources.”
Senator Kuehl also requested that development reports for the budget "address more general recruitment and retention issues … (and) that one such study focus on the chronic insufficient funding, understaffing and inadequate compensation that have decimated the ranks of DFG wardens."
"To my knowledge, to date that study has never been conducted, and it is a requirement for the budget," said Orange.
What’s at stake
One of the most important resources is drinking water, which is increasingly at risk from pollution and environmental hazards.
“People take for granted that tap water is always safe,” said Karnow. “What we are finding is that people don’t understand that we investigate water pollution. That’s our job.”
Karnow believes it is a case of “not if, but when drinking water becomes unsafe because there is not enough protection of waterways … especially if you don’t have state resources to investigate hazardous materials and pollutants in drinking water.”
Karnow feels that given the state’s continued growth, California won’t be able to keep up with the need for potable drinking water unless the resource is managed properly.
“Unless you had enough game wardens to educate the public, legislature and the court systems about the integrity and protection of drinking water resources, we are going to be unable to keep up with the progression,” said Karnow.
“Fish and Game investigates any activity that compromises the public’s trust in our drinking water,” he noted. “That’s pretty big.”
Wildlife CSI
DFG has a full range of law enforcement duties besides protecting California's natural resources.
Because wildlife species do not have voices and because the environment can't testify as to who dumped hazardous materials into a water source, the department employs forensic wildlife biologists.
“We routinely collect evidence in crime scenes of complex poaching case,” said Karnow.
The Wildlife Forensics Laboratory is strictly for investigation into wildlife crimes, and not for research. The equipment in the lab is used strictly for the unique crime investigations that are demanded of DFG. The WFL must meet strict quality assurance and quality control protocols.
Forensic scientists, depending on their specific duties, are also members of the Northwest Association of Forensic Scientists, the American Society of Crime Laboratories and the American Association of Clinical Pathologists as well as the California Association of Criminalists.
Other organizations participate in the quality control and quality assurance of the lab, and they and the lab are expected to fulfill many requirements that determine credibility.
Fighting the fight
“No additional laws, refuges, resource protection measures, habitat enhancement or restrictions will enhance our natural resources, fish and wildlife without additional game wardens to protect them by enforcement,” said Orange.
Jake Bushey said, “If they (DPA) are saying that the problem has been solved, it has not been. And it will only get worse in the next couple years.”
“What we are looking at is a train wreck,” emphasized Bushey. He points to the lag time between one warden retiring and a replacement being recruited, tested, hired and trained. “It can’t wait two years,” he said.
The need for qualified applicants and warden candidates is critical at this time because of the many wardens who will be retiring in the next two to three years.
“We need people with skills that can get into the complex investigations concerning pollutants, habitat destruction, wildlife, extremely complex crimes,” said Karnow. “You can’t just throw somebody out there.”
With many wardens approaching retirement, it will be difficult to fill the positions unless parity is reached soon.
"Fifty-four percent of the game wardens will be retiring within the next 10 years," said DeAnda. "Twenty-four percent can retire now if they want to, and 173 of the approximately 200 game wardens are over 40.
“If this (parity) doesn't get fixed I think there will be a mass exodus of game wardens. Young wardens that don't have much time on the job that are marketable will work for another law enforcement agency that pays better."
"The problem is that California is such an expensive place to live now that wardens can’t afford to stay at such low wages," said DeAnda. “In the past, believing in what you did got you through. But when the median house price is over $400,000 making 42,800 isn’t cutting it.”
DeAnda also said, "To most people, dumping a can of gas in the ground or creek is trivial, and to many, over-hunting wildlife is trivial. People live for today and don’t think about the future of the resources. That’s the reason why we exist. This is a truly honorable profession; we enforce laws that in many places people don’t think of."
Lt. Kathy Ponting said, “We must look at progress we have made and focus on the fact that we have made a difference in protecting California's natural resources and wildlife.
“It’s truly up to us to educate the judicial system, the legislature and the public as to why we have these laws. It does get frustrating, but you just continue to fight the fight."
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