Editor's note: This is the first in a two-part column examining Fish and Wildlife Protection Division changes. Howard Delo, the author, is a retired fisheries biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
On Aug. 4, 2003, the Fish and Wildlife Protection Division of Alaska's Department of Public Safety ceased to exist. The former "brownshirt" troopers were incorporated into the Alaska State Trooper Division, issued blue uniforms, and placed in a subsection of the AST now known as the Alaska Bureau of Wildlife Enforcement, or ABWE.
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Public Safety stated that this consolidation would not impact the level of fish and game enforcement that previously existed and would save the state money.
Before we explore that claim, a little background is in order. Troopers in the defunct FWP division, now ABWE, have always had the same training and enforcement authority as the troopers from the AST division. In fact, the ABWE troopers received an additional two weeks of training in dealing with the specifics of wildlife enforcement that the AST trooper trainees never received. However, after the current trooper class at the academy graduates, this extra wildlife-specific enforcement training is being eliminated as a cost cutting measure.
In times past, the FWP/ABWE troopers were regularly called on to back up and augment the efforts of the AST troopers, since both divisions have never been funded or staffed at an adequate level. Conversely, of the more than seven current and former FWP/ABWE troopers that I have personally talked with about this situation, no one can come up with an example of the AST troopers ever responding as backup to a FWP/ABWE trooper request for assistance in a wildlife-related case.
The rationale for eliminating FWP and combining these troopers into AST goes something like this: enforcing Alaska's criminal code is a constant job -- there is no closed season on burglars or speeders. The AST division is severely short-handed. Fishing, hunting, and trapping all have specific seasons, so, obviously, the ABWE troopers must have busy times and slow times. During these slow times the ABWE troopers can best be utilized enforcing the criminal codes, thus increasing the overall ability of the AST troopers to respond to calls.
This sounds good in theory. However, if one studies the various fish and game regulation booklets, it becomes readily apparent that fishing seasons run into hunting seasons which, in turn, run into trapping seasons. Trapping stops just about the time fishing season opens up again. I don't see a lot of down time here.
Have you even wondered when poaching occurs? I have. My Webster's dictionary defines poaching as: "the taking of fish and game illegally." Our moose season in the valley is about six weeks long. That leaves another 46 weeks when taking any moose is illegal. Shooting a cow moose anytime without a specific drawing permit is illegal. Isn't there a small chance these types of illegal activities might happen both during and outside the regular season, like now, when the snow is deep and the moose are more concentrated and easier to access by snowmachine? Or any other time the opportunity presents itself?
When do seasonal activity reports get written? When are the follow-up investigations performed on things like suspicious Tier II or drawing permit applications? When are "sting" operations planned, involving things like booking hunting reservations? Not when the troopers are in the field making contacts and enforcing the regulations, but rather, when they are in their supposed "down time."
Public Safety has been seriously discussing eliminating all of their aircraft as a cost saving measure. How will they do enforcement in remote areas and how will they promptly respond to a search-and-rescue call? Public Safety has turned over their four large, commercial fisheries patrol vessels to the Department of Fish and Game.
How will they patrol the high-seas commercial crab and salmon fisheries with no means of transportation?
Next week, we'll look at some recent changes in how ABWE troopers are being assigned in the Valley.
Howard Delo can be reached by calling 352-2268 and leaving a message, or by e-mail at editor@frontiersman.com.
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