Hope this finds you well as we make our way into 2010!

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Division of Law Enforcement has seen some organizational changes take place over the course of the last year.One of which is the resignation of Colonel Julie Jones to take a position as the agency head for Florida’s Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.Colonel Jones was replaced by Colonel Jim Brown, a 25 year Commission employee who promoted into the position from Deputy Director.As a whole, the agency has also seen leadership changes with the appointment of a new Executive and Assistant Executive Director, Mr. Nick Wiley and Mr. Greg Holder.

Our Investigations Section made a major advancement with the establishment of an Internet Crimes Unit (ICU) to target cyber net resource offenders that are utilizing electronic means of communication to unlawfully harvest or commercialize our natural resources.  ICU Liaisons have been assigned throughout the state to coordinate all cyber investigations in their respective areas.  ICU investigators will be targeting resource forums, social networking sites and internet marketing locations.  This group has already realized some success with regard to illegal trading in Reptiles of Concern as well as several species of venomous snakes; for the months of November and December 2009, alone, there were a total of 88 arrests and 13 warnings issued by the ICU.

FWC has been fortunate enough to have a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) special agent assigned to work with us on federal cases.The agent is located at our headquarters office in Tallahassee.We have worked a number of cases alongside our liaison as well as other USFWS agents.The partnership has proven a beneficial and positive experience for all involved. One notable case made by our department this year opened in June 2009.This covert investigation began with information received from the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources regarding the illegal transportation of foxes and coyotes into Florida.In 1988, permits were established so that fox hunters could stock foxes and coyotes in large enclosures for the purpose of chasing them with hunting dogs for training purposes.The process was also designed to allow the hunters to chase foxes and coyotes with dogs (year-round) and at the same time keep their dogs off the property of others.There is no risk of dogs being hit while crossing roads or being stolen, lost, or shot for running on posted land.Ease of gathering dogs after a chase is another motivation for their use.

During the course of the investigation, undercover officers posed as illegal suppliers of foxes and coyotes to fox pens.The Division’s Aviation Section was utilized to document the suspects moving the illegal product from county to county, across the state.Investigators were able to sell illegal product to eight fox pens; only two of which were permitted with the FWC. At the conclusion of the investigation, 12 suspects (including a convicted felon on life parole) were arrested and 46 citations in seven different counties were issued.This case attracted much attention; the Commission plans to address the issue at an upcoming Commission meeting.

Florida is a member of the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact. For those of you unfamiliar with the Compact, it is an agreement that recognizes the suspension of hunting, fishing, and trapping licenses in member states.  Compact membership continues to grow nationwide; with a total of 34 member states at this time.Seven other states have passed legislation to gain membership or are otherwise in the process of joining the Compact.

We plan to bring some great speakers and training opportunities to you this summer at the 2010 conference, which will be held in Destin, Florida (more information to follow).

The 2010 IANRC conference will be held in Destin, FL at the Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort and Spa, see link below.The business meeting will start on Sunday August 29, 2010.The regular conf. will start on the morning of August 30th and conclude on Sept. 1stat midday. There are two Airports that provide service to the area, see below.Unfortunately, the Hilton does not provide a shuttle from the airport.I'll forward you an agenda and updates as they become available.Thank you.

Ft Walton Beach (Valparaiso) - Okaloosa Regional Airport (VPS) 30 minutes away

NEW airport opening in May - near Panama City (ECP) 45 minutes away

This past year has been a banner year for Maine’s Operation Game Thief program. The number of calls continues to be on the rise and the apprehension rate is as high as ever. Each year, the program continues to grow. This year Maine OGT had 354 calls received, which was an increase of 172% from 2008 (this number does not include calls dispatched through Regional Communication Centers statewide.) 2009 was a very successful year for OGT fundraising. The program brought in over $31,600 with only four major fundraising events. A gun raffle brought in over $3,200, an organized skeet shoot brought in $3,050, a golf outing brought in $11,015, and a pheasant shoot brought in $14,339. Along with new sponsorships and case donations, the program brought in a total of over $36,000.

In 2009, out of the 354 calls OGT received, only two of these callers requested awards for their information. Over the past year, OGT has established a very positive relationship with the Cabelas Store that came to Maine in 2008. Since the store’s grand opening, the “Wall of Shame” trailer has been requested to be on display at the store on 13 different occasions. We are currently working on creating a permanent Operation Game Thief display at Cabelas. This display will be similar to our “Wall of Shame” theme, consisting of poached fish and wildlife mounts and illegal implements seized in fish and wildlife crimes.

We are well into the planning stages of hosting the 2011 conference. We are still steering towards holding the conference in Bar Harbor, which borders Acadia National Park. Within weeks, we will hopefully have an exact location and expenses figured out. We would encourage you all to make this a family affair and vacation. We will have all the particulars in Florida.

In May of 2008 the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department enhanced Operation Game Thief by instituting a system whereby concerned citizens and responsible sportsmen could report poaching incidents online. The new system was put in place to supplement the current reporting system and allows someone who has specific information regarding wildlife crimes a convenient and anonymous method of reporting those crimes.

The report of over limits of fish being taken off the coast of New Hampshire with one arrest and several state and federal charges pending.

An ethical sportsman called the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department Operation Game Thief line on November 7, 2009. Helpful and accurate information was given in regards to an individual that poached a moose out of season in the town of Barrington, New Hampshire. Conservation Officer Justin Ferland received the information and immediately conducted a thorough investigation. Ferland’s investigation revealed a resident of Barrington had illegally shot a young moose with a muzzleloader while deer hunting from a tree stand near his residence. The man did not have a moose license and moose season was closed.

A call to Operation Game Thief reported a subject registered a deer at Jewett’s Store in Kingston, New Hampshire that she did not shoot. The information was used and resulted in numerous violations against two subjects to include the taking of an overlimit of deer, unlawful use of a deer tag, and unsworn falsification.

TIP HOTLINE OVERVIEW

As of January 21, 2010, there are a total of 450 recordable TIP calls, emails, and letters in 2009; one less than the 451 recorded in 2008.

As of January 21, 2010 there are 24 cases (5% of those recorded) in which charges have been filed from the 2009 calendar year.

21 additional cases (5% of those recorded) are currently pending due to ongoing investigations to date.

Although informants are permitted to remain anonymous, 14 of the cases (58%) that resulted in charges being filed were from anonymous informants who didn’t leave any contact information.

Eight requests for rewards were received so far for informants of 2009 cases; only 3 of these had information originating through the TIP Program.

277 (62%) dispositions were returned out of the 450 recordable TIP cases in 2009. The other 173 (38%) TIP cases we have no disposition for to-date.

The Vermont Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs and the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department jointly operate Vermont's poacher hotline, Operation Game Thief.  The hotline is answered 24/7 and during 2009 the program received 26 calls related to violations.  We recently instituted an online reporting option through our web site which received several reports. We plan on updating the web site and report form as well as exploring low cost promotional initiatives for 2010.

New York State has been operating its Turn-in-Poachers and Polluters (TIPP) program for many years through TIPP DEC, Inc., a non-profit organization. The organization consisted of two primary roles - taking complaints/tips via phone and issuing cash rewards to complainants. The organization was unable to keep up with the calls coming in to its hotline, so the NYSDEC Division of Law Enforcement Director negotiated with them to have our dispatchers take over the hotline calls. All callers who dial 1-800-TIPP-DEC are connected with a dispatcher that works for the Division of Law Enforcement. The dispatchers take calls 24/7/365 and have immediate access to all officers and supervisors statewide, which has significantly improved response time to complaints. In 2009, they handled 1,108 calls to the TIPP Hotline, and over 600 complaints e-mailed in under the TIPP link on the DEC public website www.dec.ny.gov.

The Division of Law Enforcement is the sole provider of reward recommendations. TIPP DEC provides these rewards upon review by their board. Their board has not met for several years. The Division of Law Enforcement has been unable to get significant issues resolved with TIPP DEC and has subsequently been unable to submit reward recommendations. While it does not appear that the lack of reward monies has had an impact on the number of calls received, the ability to publicize rewards would undoubtedly encourage more citizens to call in suspected violations.

The Division of Law Enforcement is optimistic that they will be able to work out a solution that will enable rewards to be offered in appropriate cases. Once the Division can establish a direction for the TIPP program, it can allow time and effort to be focused on improving and enhancing the TIPP program, whether it is run by TIPP DEC, Inc. or another entity.

Greetings from Canada. I encourage all agencies to attend the IANRC conference. It provides a great forum to share ideas and learn from other agencies. The contacts made are invaluable in staying current on resource law enforcement.

The first issue that became evident in my first year as Canadian Director of IANRC is that it is not possible to represent all of Canada. I would strongly recommend three Directors. One for Atlantic, Central, and Western Canada. This would provide better information on the various TIP programs across the country and probably increase participation at the conference.

Many natural resource law enforcement agencies in Canada, such as Newfoundland and New Brunswick utilize the police crime stoppers program. This approach has led to mixed results, and in most cases the lack of calls relating to wildlife and resource crime has been the catalyst in developing a separate TIPs program to deal with resource issues. From Quebec to British Columbia, most agencies have developed their own program. A quick check across the country found most operating at the same level as other years, with little or no major changes. One exception was Alberta’s Fish and Wildlife RAP Program. Alberta’s Report a Poacher (RAP) program is jointly administered by the Fish and Wildlife Division and Alberta Conservation Association. The most recent MOU signed between the two parties was modified in 2009 to ensure it complied with requirements of protection of privacy and freedom of information legislation. All informant handling responsibilities are now assigned to the Fish and Wildlife Branch. To ensure the legal requirement to protect identity and to better manage the inherent risk to the department, all matters relating to the receiving and assessing of information, making payments, and the protection and storage of information is now delivered by trained law enforcement personnel. Given the heightened awareness of Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy within Canadian government over the past few years, it will be interesting to see if this trend continues across the country. In Nova Scotia, our program is completely administered by the Enforcement Division of DNR. Payments are approved by the Director of Enforcement, and are made from government monies. I am not aware of any other agencies operating in this manner, and not sure where we will be if the government auditors come knocking.

Although the recession did not hit us as hard as it did our friends south of the border, we are feeling the effects of a slumping economy. Combine this with a staggering national debt, and in most provinces an equally staggering provincial debt, and it is taking every bit of vision and innovative thinking we can muster to keep us afloat. If there is any truth to the statement “there is opportunity in chaos”, then this should prove to be a very opportunistic year.

Greetings from the western states and hopefully everyone had a great holiday season and happy new year! Unfortunately, with the downturn in the economy most state wildlife agencies and natural resource departments are hunkering down and tightening their belt loops to survive this time period. See Ken Dinquel’s report from Arizona that covers the problem very well. Although there are signs of economic recovery, unfortunately, the lag time for state agencies is usually 2-3 years behind so there will probably be “belt-tightening” for most agencies for the next few years. Hopefully, this does not deter natural resources (wildlife) crime stoppers programs from attending the upcoming conference in Florida later this year.

At least in Colorado, and it would be interesting to see if the trend holds up in the states that pays rewards, the number of calls are up this year and the number of people requesting rewards are the highest they have ever been. I attribute this to the economy since people are more likely to request the reward in an economic depression than when the economy is good. Even though the OGT program in Colorado pays a monetary reward, the majority of people are not interested in the reward but in doing right by the great natural wildlife resources that we all enjoy.

Greetings from sunny Arizona! As I write this, it is early January 2010 and the outside temperature is a cozy 75 degrees. Many of you are probably freezing in your home states and are envious of us here in the southwest. You can all take great joy in knowing that in just a few short months it will be 115 degrees outside, then you can laugh at us! Gloating aside, I hope the New Year finds you and your families well and I hope everyone had a great holiday season. With the New Year it is time to give a brief report from our home states. Here goes from Arizona.

Our economy is still in the toilet. National media reports indicate that Arizona is second only to California for worst economies. Our budget crisis is an absolute mess and there is even more to come in 2010. Unlike California, who is suffering from high unemployment and low tax revenues from slow industry demand, Arizona’s problems lie more with the housing mortgage collapse. Because California has tons more industry than Arizona, their economic machine will crank up quickly as demand for products increases. Arizona, on the other hand, probably will not recover for years due to massive overbuilding and expansion prior to the bubble bursting. We have entire neighborhoods full of brand new houses that are sitting vacant and a construction industry that has been gutted. The economic shortfalls have long reaching tentacles and our state government is running on borrowed time (literally).

So far, our agency, the Arizona Game and Fish Department, has been keeping its head above water, but just barely. This is mostly due to our being mostly self-funded and the fact that we do enjoy HUGE public support. Other state agencies have not fared so well and have been severely impacted by the legislature making gigantic, unprecedented budget cuts. Our State Parks Department, which is a separate agency from the Game and Fish Department, has almost been entirely shut down due to budget slashes. Along with this came park closures and layoffs. I always find it odd that recreation agencies are always first to be picked on when there is a budget crisis, especially at a time when the public demands cheap outdoor recreational opportunities! I guess that the Game and Fish Department and Arizona’s wildlife is recognized by our legislature as having massive economic benefits to the state and that is aiding our survival. Time will tell how long this perception will last. For now, I am convinced that the earth’s destruction could be guaranteed by an impact with a massive meteor or comet, yet the hunters and fishermen will still be out doing what they love until the last possible second! Heck, that’s what I would be doing!

As it stands, we are holding our own. We have not had to deal with layoffs or furloughs at the Game and Fish Department (yet), but time will tell. We are still hiring new officer recruits, but all other positions outside of law enforcement are in a hiring freeze, therefore we are experiencing a reduction in force due to attrition. The Governor recently passed a rule allowing each state agency to reduce all employee salaries by 5%, if needed. So far we are surviving due to our financial stream, but again, time will tell. Most employees agree that they would be willing to take a salary cut if it means that people won’t be laid off.

It seems that with the economic downturn, many people have opted to increase their poaching activity simply to feed themselves. We are experiencing a record year for wildlife violations that include outright poaching. With that, we are also experiencing a record number of reported and solved wildlife crimes. Call it a “target rich environment”! In calendar year 2009, the Operation Game Thief Program took 768 Reports of Violation for all wildlife related violations (including nongame, fish, small game, and big game). Of the reported violations, 416 were big game related. Of those cases, our investigations resulted in 39 cases solved and many more arrests, but many cases are still open or under investigation. The Operation Game Thief Program paid 39 rewards in 2009 for a total of $14,125.00! Hopefully we can be as successful at apprehending violators for 2010, but in a perfect world, we wouldn’t have to issue a single citation. Of course, we do not live in a perfect world.

On a second front, I am pleased to report that Arizona’s first “Operation Game Thief anti-poaching display trailer is on the way! I have only occupied the Program Manager roll for a short year and in that time, I have had the privilege to attend the IANRC conference in Utah last summer. Utah was gracious enough to bring their anti-poaching trailer to the conference (thanks, Tony!) and I took the opportunity to soak up as much information about these trailers from Utah and all other state and provincial agencies that have similar trailers. I came back from the conference with a mission to secure funding for our own trailer.

In short order I put together a PowerPoint presentation, utilizing photos of anti-poaching display trailers supplied by Alberta, Colorado, Minnesota, Ontario, Saskatchewan, Texas, and Utah to give to local sportsman’s organizations and industry in an attempt to drum up some sponsorship funding. Not knowing what to expect from my solicitations, or how many groups I would need to visit to reach my minimum goal of $15,000.00, I worked up some sponsorship tiers for amounts donated. The amount donated would allow the sponsors guaranteed advertisement and display space in and on the trailer. The larger the donation, the larger the display.

My first appointment was with the Safari Club International, who was conveniently holding their national conference in Tucson in August, 2009. I had the opportunity to address the Board of Directors at their Executive Meeting and show them my PowerPoint presentation, with some questions and discussion to follow. I immediately noticed a “buzz” in the room, and the excitement seemed to build as I proceeded with the presentation.

Immediately upon finishing with the PowerPoint a Board Member raised his hand and asked me, “I see that you have included Gold, Silver, and Copper sponsorship tiers, but what if we wanted to fund the entire trailer.” As you can imagine, I was caught off guard with this question! I mean, nowhere in my wildest dreams did I think that I could drum up the entire sponsorship donation from a single organization! Without skipping a beat, I responded that what wasn’t included in the presentation was the “Platinum” tier, which would guarantee sole sponsorship on the display trailer. This generated some laughter and spirited discussion amongst the SCI Executive Board. Within ten minutes, the SCI Executive Board demanded to be part of this project. A motion was proposed for SCI to fund the entire project. The motion was seconded and the 50 member Executive Board voted unanimously to donate $25,000.00 for my anti-poaching trailer!

This whole process took less than 25 minutes and happened so fast that my head was spinning. I am currently completing the Sponsorship Agreement paperwork to be signed by our Director, Larry Voyles, and by the SCI. The money will then be transferred into a special account and I can start the bidding process. I hope to have the trailer up and running by the end of 2010.

One other success story of 2009 was the partnership that was established with NFL Football great, Danny White, who is the former quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys, former head coach for the Arizona Rattlers Arena Football team, and current President of the same organization. Danny is a longtime Arizona resident and a huge local sports celebrity in Arizona. Danny is also an avid outdoorsman and hunter. Through a friend of a friend, Danny had offered to lend his help to the Arizona Game and Fish Department in any way he could. I jumped on the offer and arraigned for Danny to record some radio spots supporting the Operation Game Thief program and an anti-poaching campaign. The radio spots are being played statewide on local radio stations and they are an overwhelming success. We are planning to use Danny for some video shoots that will be aired on local TV, and played on the flat screen TV in our anti-poaching trailer. If you are interested in listening to the radio spots just go to my OGT website at www.azgfd.gov/thief.

I shamelessly plagiarized these and many other ideas at the IANRC conference in Utah last summer. I mean, why re-invent the wheel? I would like to thank all that put up with my never-ending questions last summer and requests for resources! I look forward to stealing all of your other good ideas this coming summer in Florida!

As a final note, the quail hunting is still pretty good this winter and the season runs through early February. Let me know if you want to get out of the cold and come to Arizona this winter to school a few birds (Curtis? Tony?).

Hope to see you all in Florida this August!

The All West service continues to work very well for Idaho’s Citizens Against Poaching. During the 2009 calendar year, 347 cases were generated from calls to the hotline from the nearly 8000 reports called in. There were 187 citations issued and nearly $23,000 dollars paid out in rewards. CAP continues to support the reward program and authorized multiple enhanced rewards ranging from $500.00 to $1500.00 for multiple citations or felony cases.

As I have reported in the past, Citizen’s Against Poaching is a private citizen’s board with funding generated through donations. CAP has set a goal, through proper investment, to one day be solvent and no longer need donations. Additionally, as they recover from the economic slide CAP has dedicated more monetary resources to Idaho Fish and Game enforcement. During this past calendar year, CAP dedicated approximately $25,000 to IDFG enforcement. Nearly $10,000 was used to provide officers with much needed equipment that IDFG has not been able to financially support. The remaining $15,000 was dedicated to special investigations. Without these monies, these investigations would not have been supported, as with many state agencies, IDFG is experiencing the financial crunch.

For 2010, CAP has set goals for spreading their message through creative advertising, and exploring ways to better utilize their funds to aid enforcement. We have a CAP Board meeting in June which I hope to report on when we all meet in Florida this summer. 

Montana's Crimestopper program TIP-MONT continues to expand as it has done for the past several years. Currently TIP-MONT has received about 2000 calls, up from approximately 1884 received last year. Some wardens, because of their geographic area have taken over 100 calls individually. Trespassing, OHV violations, and waste of game all on the rise have contributed to the increase of calls.

Many cases have been resolved due to the public's involvement that otherwise would have gone unsolved, some drawing National attention. Montana has had several high profile poaching cases involving grizzly bears this past year with very little evidence of who may have committed the crimes. One grizzly case out of Choteau has generated a reward from private citizens that is in excess of $12,000.00 well over the $1000.00 that TIP-MONT would normally pays. The public outcry concerning this particular case reaffirms the importance that Montanans place on the wildlife of our state and the trust that is given to our agency that we will do all we can to protect the resource.

We are excited to have Florida hosting the International Association of Natural Resource Crimestoppers annual conference this year. This is a great time for the Southeastern States to attend this conference while it is close to home. Kentucky hosted the IANRC in 2008, and we only had three Southeastern States attend (FL, GA, KY). Let’s get geared up now and get ready for Sandestin Florida this August.

The IANRC conference is a great place to share information and learn new ideas to promote your Turn In Poachers program. I know with turnovers all across the nation, we have new faces working in their TIP or OGT offices. We are all fighting poaching issues in our states and it seems the economy has not slowed it down. Come and learn some new techniques and new ideas to let technology help you fight poaching while resources are being cut.

Each state is experiencing budget cuts and especially restrictions for out of state travel. Some states are looking to their TIP or OGT boards to pay travel expenses in order to attend the annual conference. It is well worth their investment to send a representative to be a part of IANRC. Remember to advise your local program they can join IANRC as an associate member. Georgia TIP’s Inc. will be joining this year and I encourage you to promote your states organizations that fight against poaching.

It is important to keep contacts up with your bordering states to develop that working relationship. I will be contacting all the Southeastern States and encouraging them to attend this year’s conference. I can promise you that everyone has something to contribute and you will learn something new.

IANRC Regional Directors will be making an effort to get their states to attend the upcoming conference, and we have the means to assist one or two agencies that cannot attend due to financial travel constraints. Please, if you want to attend, contact your regional director about travel expenses.

Remember there is no need to re-invent the wheel, come and see what other states are doing to promote their program, exchange new ideas and network.

For more information about the International Association of Natural Resources Crimestoppers, visit our website at, www.ianrc.org

See you in Florida.

In 2006, Association members approved the establishment of a $25,000 investment portfolio through a financial counseling firm. As you would suspect, this account suffered an economic hit especially hard from October 2007 through March 2009. I am pleased to report that the investment has regained all the dividends lost since October 2007 and totals $27,448 as of December 31, 2009.

Collaboration with our associate members is vital in our anti-poaching education efforts. I am currently working with our web site manager to include links to associate member web sites. Please look for this along with conference updates and membership information in the near future.

If there is any information concerning our Association that I can provide, please do not hesitate to contact me.