Poaching is an open season, and catching poachers can lead down some windy roads....literally. The men and women that comprise the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (KDFWR) are given the near impossible task of stopping those that break the laws set in place to help sustain the wildlife populations and keep people safe.In order to understand conservation officers, an understanding of the laws, definitions and history of Kentucky's efforts to conserve natural resources is paramount.
The Kentucky State defines poaching as to trespass or to
"take wildlife or foul the waters of any pond or farm with a substance injurious to life or growth of wildlife, or break or destroy any dam, reservoir, or embankment or divert the waters or otherwise willfully damage the farm or pond". (150.300 Poaching)
Our book defines poaching as the "taking of a game animal out of season or through an illegal means" (Clifford 465) However, poaching can also be expanded to include resources such as endangered plant life. Poaching, or the formation of wildlife regulations, and consequently the breaking of those rules, has gone on since the dawn of man. It could be argued the biblical Eve, who took from a forbidden tree, was poaching. Worldwide today, wherever laws govern the people, there are laws restricting hunting, fishing and the use of resources in some form. In modern China, poaching is so detrimental, it can be a crime punishable by death.In Kentucky, the beginnings of the conservation of natural resources dates back to around the time of the first settlers. Previously, Native Americans held hunting and resources taboos. With the introduction of pioneers in the hills of Kentucky in the 1750's, for the vast majority, wildlife was free for the taking.Legislation was passed in 1738 a nd 1775 to cover the territory that would become Kentucky to help protect the deer population. This law would do little to protect the wildlife and resources against a growing population dependent on animals' meat and parts. These resources were consumed not only for survival, but also to crave a thirsty Northern and European markets. By 1890 Kentucky, and the nation in general, had discovered the need for a regulating body for natural resources. A century of commercial, sport, and necessity wildlife resource deprivation had taken a toll on Kentucky's resources. A decade later in 1915, a survey in Kentucky would discover the deer population to be nearly extinct. In 1912, J. Quincy Ward., with the help of the Kentucky legislation, passed laws creating the formation of a wildlife agency underneath the department of Agriculture, but was unable to obtain funding. Taking a personal loan for $5000, the agency worked with personal equipment and often with little regulation and unde rstanding guided by trial and error. Of the $5000 lent, the agency used under $400, and quickly returned the rest. All revenue exceeding their operating budget would roll into the Kentucky state general fund. In 1912, the agency received $31,000 in license sales. In 1917 the revenue went to $41,000, and in 1923, an astonishing $70,000. This impressive revenue meant little if the agency could not use the money it collected. Upon the foundation in 1912, the goal was to 'propagate the game and fish of Kentucky' (History), chiefly obtaining fish from the federal government for Kentucky and the enforcement of the game laws. Game wardens were appointed and paid $25 a month, plus a portion of fines they levied. Political influences ran strong in the agency. Multiple attempts to replenish resources by importing game from Mexico proved to be expensive disasters. Fortunately, a moratorium on deer hunting from 1915 until 1946 provided necessary and very beneficial in the long run to th e diminished deer population of Kentucky. The formation of the League of Sportsmen gave the average citizen a say in resource pay allotment, eventually allowing the Division of Game and Fish to keep all income and allowing the Department to begin purchasing land in the name of conservation. In 1944, the Fish and Wildlife agency was restructured and placed as an independent agency and out of political control, where it stays still today.Today, no longer are conservation officers paid a portion of the fines they give, or are forced to use their own personal vehicle and equipment. KDFWR also now put their recruits through extensive training, and certainly no longer rely on simply 'trial and error'. Lt Larry Estes serves with the KDFWR. "From the time the recruit is hired it takes approximately forty weeks till he is ready to be released upon his own." During the training, the recruits are put through a multiple of scenarios. Lora Lacefield is an officer for KDFWR. "It is pretty exciting, I mean, it is spur of the moment maneuvers...if I had to compare it to anything, it would be like barrel racing in a boat." "It is extensive training, more than any other agency that I know of in the state", says Mike Stephenson, an officer trainer."[Poaching is] an illegal practice to kill fish and game...Poaching is a crime of greed and total disregard for other people and the resource as to which they are taking from.... In my opinion, poachers are no different than someone that breaks into a home, or business, and robs them of their property.....Some of it is pure greed and antler fever, and some of it is monetary." (Lacefield)
According to conservation officers, their role and career is rewarding and always changing. "Being a conservation officer, in my opinion, is the best job in the world. It is fun, challenging dangerous, and is always changing." (Lacefield) The work and training of a conservation officer is equal to that of police powers, with an emphasis on marine and game violations, "Objective is safety for our citizens and legal harvest." (Lacefield)Kentucky conservation officers are "relied on by the counselors, prosecutors, and judges to advise appropriate punishment and educate on wildlife....No two cases are handled the same" (Lacefield). Lt. Richard Skaggs who is a field officer believes "the reason we're out there is not only enforce the law but to promote values and ethics in the woods, and that is the main purpose. Values and ethics are much higher than the law itself." "The conservation officer primarily, his job is to enforce the laws and regulations that go along with hunting and fishing and boating, The officer is sworn and bound to enforce all of the laws of the commonwealth." (Estes). According to Mike Stephenson an officer trainer, "It is a completely different job than any other law enforcement job in the state....Everybody that we encounter has some sort of weapon." Shane Carrier is an officer who believes:"We got a job to do without a doubt and that is to help protect the natural resources of Kentucky. We are out there also to help people... You've got city police units that take care of their cities, and state police units that take care of the state. This is my city (the waterways)."
Col. Bob Milligan is the director of KDFWR's law enforcement. His thoughts on the officers who comprise the department include:
"I view them as specialists, they are the only people in this state who do what they do. The level of training they receive is second to none...The officers are very passionate about what they do. They truly believe that what they are doing is helping to save and conserve the resources of this state..."
Financial gains for poachers can be immense. According to Lacefield, the highest parts in demand in Kentucky are paddle fish eggs, freshwater mussel shells, black bear gallbladders and claws, and deer and elk antlers. One must be sure if buying or selling fish, game, or resources. Because of varying laws, sometimes that can be difficult. Not only must they pass federal and state laws, but also city and counties have enacted their own restrictions on certain items. Jeff Finn is a wildlife crime investigator for the KDFWR."The way I go about investigating is not just simply search the internet, search a lot of the websites, but I also do a lot of networking with the public, with sportsmen, with officers from other states. We share information back and forth....We feel like this is important (internet surveillance) because the illegal commercialization of wildlife is always been a major concern of the Fish and Wildlife Department. It has been an age long battle of commercial poaching and the money it can be gained from poaching....Even to the point in early days of America driving populations extinct."
Finn went further, to give an example of his work. "eBay is one of the sites I monitor quite a bit...I investigated several of these (eBay auctions of turkey beards from Kentucky). I had two different folks one eBay last year selling as many as 23 wild turkey beards."
Such a high number makes Finn suspicious that the seller has taken turkeys our if season and/or more than the season's limit. The only legal way he could be selling such a number is if he was a licensed taxidermist. "Our job is to protect the wildlife of Kentucky. That is why we monitor the internet. We're looking for illegal taking to the illegal sales and if your out there on the internet and your taking wildlife illegally or selling illegally, then we are out to catch you and stop you from doing that. We want to look after our wildlife for all of the sportsmen, for all of the citizens of Kentucky." (Finn)
The impact of the conservation officers, as well as the poachers, can be felt throughout the communities. "[Poachers] instills fear amongst the landowners because they are afraid of the repercussions...Many officers have been shot at, houses burned down, dogs killed, and families threatened." (Lacefield) "When we're issuing a citation it is not always pleasant, it is not always pleasant to have to arrest someone; but we have compassion for people and we use our digression wisely. We're after compliance, not punishment of the public." (Skaggs) "We want them to have a good experience, as long as they aren't hunting over bait or something of that nature." "We don't want them to feel intimidated and if they aren't doing anything wrong, they don't have anything to worry about." (Carrier)Poachers are hard to catch because professionals are focused and well practiced. There is one officer per county, sometimes two, "spread so thin that it turns into a game of perseverance, chance , and probability." (Lacefield) Usually catching a poacher or even building a case is a team effort. Public tips are vital. "Informants range from family members, friends, fellow poachers, and undercover officers." (Lacefield)Because of such limited resources, officers must become creative. One such way is to catch poachers by planting a decoy deer by the roadside in attempts of catching those who either shoot from the road, shoot out of season, or trespass. Early on, this practice came under challenge in Vermont.State officials, upon numerous complaints from locals regarding a poacher who would shoot deer from the road on private property, acted to catch the poacher. Creating a decoy out of Styrofoam within driving view, the officers sat and waited. At night, a truck slowly drove by, shined a light on the decoy, then fire on the decoy. Upon confronting the defendant, Mr. Curtis was found to have a.22 rifle and a modified miner's helmet to help assist in spotlighting. The de coy had been shot in the eye at a distance of 83 feet in the dark from a running vehicle. The defendant argued decoys are not subject to hunting regulations as they themselves are not wildlife, it was also entrapment, and a legal impossibility to convict a person for poaching Styrofoam. The landmark case ruled against Mr. Curtis, putting conservation officers on the offense. Had it been ruled differently, catching poachers in the act, in their natural habitat would prove near impossible.Today, especially because of their popularity, the deer decoys provide a sense of omnipresence. The hopes of KDFWR is that every poacher will second guess the next time they think of shooting an animal. Is it real, or am I going to be videotaped shooting Styrofoam? Additional ways that KDFWR employs to catch poachers include monitoring busy road and checking those with animal carcasses to ensure they were taken legally. In addition, it is common for KDFWR to drive by common hunting spots and use helicopters to survey hunting areas. "Sometimes you catch somebody spotlighting or poaching deer at night and end up catching them with methamphetamine, and marijuana, and possibly a DUI." (Skaggs) "Sometime you do feel like a teacher, because you tell people, seems like all day long, I tell them, ya can't do this, and ya can't do that." ( Carrier)The current revenue for the KDFWR was an astonishing $45.8 million in 2007.$24,727,167 came from hunting and fishing license, $15,457,942 from Federal Reimbursement (wildlife Restoration Act), $3,605,398 from boat registration fees, and $2,115,772 from other sources including income tax write offs. The money is distributed for: 28% Law Enforcement, 27% Wildlife, 17% Fisheries, 13% Information & Education, 11% Administrative & Support, and 4% Capital ConstructionThe goals of the future of KDFWR rotate around five main goals. These goals are to conserve and enhance wildlife populations, increase wildlife activity opportunities, i nform the public, extend and diversify the user base, and to better the organization.
From the beginnings of the state through today, the conservation of Kentucky's resources has been an important and necessary part of the communities' well being. The officers today very professional and well trained. With an emphasis on education and compliance, KDFWR provides a great service to the people and wildlife of Kentucky. "The ecosystem not only includes the trees and the wilderness, it includes the social interaction that people have and that is what conservation law enforcement is about. It is a mixture of sociology, biology and ecology." (Skaggs)
ReferencesClifford, M. (1998). Environmental crime-enforcement, policy, and social responsibility. Gaithersburg, MD: Aspen Publishing.
KDFWR,. (2007). The History of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources from Settlement Through 1944.
Moore, S, (2007). Law Enforcement Special. Kentucky A-Field
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