OREGON STATE POLICE FISH & WILDLIFE DIVISION MONTHLY FIELD REVIEW SEPTEMBER 2019 CONTENT Community Outreach ............................................................................................... 3 General Archery Season ........................................................................................... 4 General Law & Rescues ............................................................................................ 5 Administration and Enforcement of Wildlife Laws ................................................ 6-8 Marine Fisheries Team ............................................................................................. 9 Shellfish and Angling ......................................................................................... 10-11 Case Disposition ..................................................................................................... 12 Turn in Poachers ..................................................................................................... 13 F&W Recruitment ................................................................................................... 14 On the cover: A Tillamook Fish & Wildlife Trooper working from the top of a ridge along the Trask River. COMMUNITY OUTREACH White River Wildlife Area Youth Pheasant Hunt Fish & Wildlife Troopers assisted ODFW with their annual youth pheasant clinic at the White River Wildlife Area. There were several youth hunters that attended the event and had success in harvesting pheasants. Presentation Given at OHA Meeting - Gold Beach Fish & Wildlife Troopers attended the Oregon Hunting Association (OHA) meeting in Gold Beach. A presentation was given on the effects of lead vs. copper bullets on wildlife. The presentation gave statistics on wildlife mortality due to lead poisoning. These include everything from raptors to land animals that are affected from game gut piles. Youth Pheasant Hunt - Coquille Valley Coos Bay area Fish & Wildlife Troopers assisted ODFW and OHA with a youth pheasant hunt which was hosted at Coquille Valley Wildlife Area. Volunteers from the community provided bird dogs for the children who did not have access to one. The event was a success with nearly all of the kids limiting out. Several of the kids did not have adults available to hunt with, so the Troopers accompanied them on their hunt. Mid-Willamette Valley Anglers Club Meeting K-9 Buck Attends Sporting Dog Days Event A Fish & Wildlife Trooper attended the monthly meeting for the Mid-Willamette Valley Anglers Club in Salem as a Senior Trooper Wolcott and K-9 Buck attended the guest speaker. The Trooper was well received and answered Sporting Dog Days event at Cabela’s in Springfield. questions pertaining to the Electronic Licensing System K-9 Buck was very popular with the attendees. (ELS), Angling, Hunting and boat operation and safety. Approximately 50 members were present for the meeting. OSP Presentation - Hermiston High School A Fish & Wildlife Trooper was invited to speak to a wildlife class at Hermiston High School. The Trooper spoke to approximately 15 students about the duties and responsibilities of a Fish & Wildlife Trooper and why they are important. He also shared some awesome stories which were well received. Troopers Attend Community Event - The Dalles Fish & Wildlife Troopers attended a community outreach event in The Dalles, with approximately 300 people in attendance. Troopers talked about boating safety, various fish and wildlife topics, and about police work to the public. The big OSP boat was a great attraction and everyone was pleased to see OSP Fish & Wildlife Troopers at the event. 3 GENERAL ARCHERY SEASON Unlawful Take of Doe - Saddle Mountain Unit A Fish & Wildlife Trooper received information about a subject who unlawfully killed a doe in the Saddle Mountain unit during archery deer season (a forked antler or better hunting unit). A witness of the incident, who happens to work for ODFW, contacted the suspect and directed him to self-report the incident and turn the deer over to OSP. The suspect agreed to do so and then later waited for the complainant to leave the area and chose to not report the incident himself. The Trooper made contact with the suspect at a later date. The suspect admitted to shooting a doe and said he should have turned himself in. The deer was seized as evidence and the subject was criminally cited and released for Unlawful Take/Possession of Antlerless Deer. Hunting From Roadway - Ukiah Unit A Fish & Wildlife Trooper observed four subjects jump out of two pickups on a major highway and one of the subjects had a nocked arrow. Upon contact, the subjects would not say which one had the arrow nocked and they were just out “looking” at the elk. One subject finally admitted he was the one with the nocked arrow. He happened to be the only one in the group with a Ukiah Any Elk Tag. He was cited Bull Elk Killed with Rifle During Archery Season for Hunting Prohibited Area-Public Roadway. A Fish & Wildlife Trooper was notified by Northern WED Operation in The Dalles Watershed Command Center of a report of an elk being shot and killed with a rifle during archery season on the Tami Wagner Fish & Wildlife Troopers conducted a wildlife enforcement Wildlife Area near Yachats. Two Troopers and a Lincoln deer decoy (WED) in The Dalles Watershed, which is closed County Sheriff’s Deputy arrived on scene to find five to hunting. A vehicle stopped and the passenger got out and subjects processing a deceased spike bull elk. One subject shot twice at the decoy with his bow. A Trooper stopped the told a Trooper he had shot and killed the spike elk with his vehicle as the passenger was placing his bow back into the bow and the other subjects had stopped to help process the vehicle. The subject stated he didn’t know he was in a closed elk. Upon inspecting the carcass, the arrow entry wound area as his map showed him to be in a US Forest Service was clearly post mortem. A second subject eventually area. The subject was educated on the closure and received admitted to shooting the carcass with an arrow, and finding a citation for Hunting Prohibited Area – Public Roadway. the rifle bullet in the carcass and throwing it into a nearby blackberry thicket. Troopers conducted a detailed search of the vehicles, nearby field and blackberry bushes, but no firearm or rifle bullet was discovered. The subject who admitted to shooting the elk carcass was cited and released for Take/Possession of Bull Elk, Aiding/Counseling in a Wildlife Offense, and Tampering with Physical Evidence. The subject’s archery equipment was seized as evidence. Two other subjects were cited and released for Aiding/ Counseling in a Wildlife Offense. Additional charges will be referred to the Lincoln County District Attorney’s office for consideration. The elk meat was salvaged and delivered to a local processor. After processing, the meat was donated to charity. Elk legally harvested in the North Coast Travel Management Area. 4 GENERAL LAW & RESCUES OSP Troopers Assist on Dunes Rescue - Coos Bay A Fish & Wildlife Trooper and a Patrol Trooper assisted in a rescue effort for a subject who fell from horseback on the North Spit of Coos Bay. The high tide limited access to the remote shoreline. Using an OSP boat, a Bay Cities Ambulance paramedic was transported to the victim. Deer Stuck in Sewer Pond - Bonanza North Bay Fire District personnel and another paramedic A Fish & Wildlife Trooper was dispatched to the report of arrived on foot from a short hike from the dunes rescue three deer stuck in a sewer pond near Bonanza. Luckily the unit. The patient was loaded into the boat on a backboard treatment plant was still under construction and the pond and transported back to the dock, where Coos County was dry. The deer were unable to climb out due to the thick Sheriff’s Deputies assisted carrying the patient off the boat. black plastic liner around the pond. With the assistance of The patient was transported to and given advanced care at a patrol trooper and a tow strap, the Trooper was able to the Bay Area Hospital Emergency Department. corral the deer and carry them to the top of the pond. All seemed to be fatigued but in good health. Woman Cited for Littering - Deschutes County Trapped Deer Released - La Pine Fish & Wildlife Troopers investigated a littering case that occurred on a forest service road in Deschutes County A La Pine Fish & Wildlife Trooper received a report of a near the shoreline of Wickiup Reservoir. The on-scene mule deer doe that had been trapped inside of a high fence investigation revealed that a female subject and her family for several days and was unable to walk. The Trooper found had been camping in an unimproved camp site and had the doe to be suffering from severe dehydration. The doe left behind a significant amount of household garbage was provided with water and was able to walk away the and boxes at the campsite. A witness retrieved a shipping following day. label out of one of the trash bags which helped identify a suspect. The subject was located in Salem, interviewed and Bull Elk Caught in Fence - Wildhorse Creek confessed to leaving behind the trash. The subject was cited Fish & Wildlife Troopers responded to a report of a branch at her place of employment for Offensive Littering. bull elk caught in a fence along Wildhorse Creek in the Columbia Basin Unit. It was reported that the bull’s antlers were caught in the fencing and he was unable to free himself. The bull was located and found to have his antlers VERY entangled in a large amount of fencing wires. As the bull continued to free himself, he kept pulling up more fence posts. ODFW was contacted to come and sedate the bull so he could be safely freed from the fencing. After much effort, the bull was freed and he left the scene appearing to be unharmed. 5 ADMINISTRATION & ENFORCEMENT OF WILDLIFE LAWS Sage Grouse Patrol Fish & Wildlife Troopers from Oakridge and Springfield conducted patrols in the Beatys Butte unit East of Lakeview for the opening weekend of the controlled sage grouse season. Patrols were conducted using department ATVs. On opening morning they set up on a water hole with sage grouse activity and watched for early shooting.