WDFW bad rep

[Simcoe hunter]

I find it interesting that some individuals report hunting for decades and never having a single negative experience, while others report consistently having problems.

Do those of you that have these consistent problems report the incidents so WDFW can address them?

http://wdfw.wa.gov/enforcement/surveys/feedback.html

I kinda get the impression the most that hate them have had bad run ins with WDFW officers when they were doing their jobs.   

 
Would like the real names of the "bashers" of WDFW Officers on here to see how many of them had issues (citations/arrests) with WDFW Officers.

JASON TRAPP and not one violation or citation

James Brokaw, Jr.  And not one violation or citation.  Be sure to get the Jr. part or you will get my Dad who is retired from WDFW.  I grew up around the old Fisheries Dept. cops and then the WDFW guys.  It is sad what some of them have become today.  Run my name, there is nothing to hide.  But this newer generation has more turds in it than I can ever say there used to be.  It used to be that you were innocent until proven guilty.  You were approached by someone who treated you politely, and asked the questions necessary to determine your compliance with the law without belligerent interrogation.  I have little to no respect for those who begin a verbal confrontation/assault without your even having done something wrong.

[NoImpactNoIdea]

James Brokaw, Jr.  And not one violation or citation.  Be sure to get the Jr. part or you will get my Dad who is retired from WDFW.  I grew up around the old Fisheries Dept. cops and then the WDFW guys.  It is sad what some of them have become today.  Run my name, there is nothing to hide.  But this newer generation has more turds in it than I can ever say there used to be.  It used to be that you were innocent until proven guilty.  You were approached by someone who treated you politely, and asked the questions necessary to determine your compliance with the law without belligerent interrogation.  I have little to no respect for those who begin a verbal confrontation/assault without your even having done something wrong.

This pretty much sums up most peoples issue. 

[whitey]

Snow geese on fir island. Mind you Me and My buddy (Age 72) Just pulled onto the island, been there 10 minutes and see a 2 game wardens trucks. I stop and say Good Morning and the Fat Tub of chit says to me. "If I was you Id get another truck..
I say my Toyota is a great truck, He says I just got word of a truck matching that trucks describtion..
I said Chit I said we just got here and this was the first time out of the truck.
I said have a good day and Me and My buddy got in the truck and left.
What a F#$KING JACKA$$.
They should have been polite and helpful, not a F$%KING *censored*. that they both were. No use for them, Treat people as You want to be treated, Treat me like Chit, You got it coming back at you.
There thats my RANT.

Sounds like you needed to have a sense of humor in this situation.

They were just saying you should have had another truck because they got a complaint about a similar truck. I guess if they really wanted to they could have pulled you out at gunpoint thrown you on the ground and cuffed you until they figured out the correct description 

Oh man that was funny. Being accused of doing something based on the fact Im driving a white Truck.
I forgot how funny it is to have a smart a$$ comment made when a straight up question is ask.
Now what is funny is this thought..(You Ready)
The Lard A$$ sitting in the new truck We bought him and his little blanket spread over his legs is going to jump out of anything. Fat F$%K would fall and break a hip.
Now thats funny.
Sorry see no humor in him and his smart mouth. 

Whitey-
Watch the language please.
Thanks!!

 

Just got kindof spooled up.

[sakoshooter]

Is it just me or does the WDFW have a really bad reputation and many hunters/ outdoorsmen do not support them?

From personal expeirence I've got the impression that im guilty and have to prove myself innocent.

I have only had one interaction with them and it was certainly not a positive one.  I will refrain from talking about it in great detail because some of it is still pending other than saying my case was thrown out of court and the judged signed an order  that stated I "did nothing wrong" and ordered them to return my property.  I feel that they were dishonest the entire time, one officer perjured himself in the narrative, and even lied to my attorney saying my items had been destroyed before giving them back the next day.  Encounters like this are why they have a bad reputation.

I had a similar situation a few years back concerning a misunderstanding and two officers "changing'' their testimonies in court and the judge preventing my hunting partners from testifying as witnesses. Very bad. Too long of a story to tell here and would rather forget it for the most part. Sure makes you lose your respect for law enforcement officers when it happens.

[ctwiggs1]

I've always said in Enumclaw that when Bruce Richards retires, it'll be a sad day for hunters and fisherman.  There is just not much left.

I've only had a few run-ins with F&G but typically I just hand them my license first thing and then show them the obvious stuff so they know I'm in compliance.  An example is when I was checked by a LEO awhile back while duck hunting.  I gave him my license and then asked if he wanted to check my gun for a proper plug.  I think that threw him off and he said "Nope, you guys seem to be doing things the right way.  Have a great day."

I can tell you right now if someone gets in my face like they did you, I'm asking for a badge number. 

I see no harm in filing complaints and even requesting face-to-faces with his supervisor.  They are public servants and each board member here represents the hunting-washington community.

Curtis

[Fowlweather25]

"The officer then followed them to the campground and when they pulled out a ziploc full of duck breasts the officer got all excited...I understand the routine checks that Fish and Wildlife do, but I do not see why once they've checked your tags, gun, ammo/arrow weight, license plate and see that your not doing anything wrong that they continue to search/prod you for information that could lead to you doing something wrong."

Your friends were in clear violation of the law. Why shouldn't an officer look into it further?

"It is unlawful to possess in the field or transport game birds unless a feathered head is left attached to each carcass, except falconry-caught birds."

So youre telling me that its illegal for me to cook and eat the ducks i kill when i get back to camp?

[lostbackpacker]

I've had only a few encounters with Game Wardens.  Two were very pleasant.  The third time the guy was an a**.

Seems like the younger game wardens I have encountered were very nice to deal with, the older guy had his feathers ruffled before he even contacted me. 

[ctwiggs1]

Guys gotta eat while in camp.  That's like saying we can't eat backstrap in camp.

[CAM38]

I guess we need a definition of "in the field" i've always looked at it as the area between where i'm hunting and where i'm staying, whether thats a camp, house, resort etc.  once I've transported an animal to the place that I'm staying, I don't think I'm "in the field" any longer and can process or eat my game as i choose.

[turkeyfeather]

I guess we need a definition of "in the field" i've always looked at it as the area between where i'm hunting and where i'm staying, whether thats a camp, house, resort etc.  once I've transported an animal to the place that I'm staying, I don't think I'm "in the field" any longer and can process or eat my game as i choose.

I have always looked at it that way as well. Once I have gotten to were I am sleeping and the game is hanging or in the cooler I am no longer in the field.

[JLS]

"The officer then followed them to the campground and when they pulled out a ziploc full of duck breasts the officer got all excited...I understand the routine checks that Fish and Wildlife do, but I do not see why once they've checked your tags, gun, ammo/arrow weight, license plate and see that your not doing anything wrong that they continue to search/prod you for information that could lead to you doing something wrong."

Your friends were in clear violation of the law. Why shouldn't an officer look into it further?

"It is unlawful to possess in the field or transport game birds unless a feathered head is left attached to each carcass, except falconry-caught birds."

So youre telling me that its illegal for me to cook and eat the ducks i kill when i get back to camp?

No it's not, but the way it was explained to me was that the law pretty much requires the head attached until you are getting ready to throw it on the grill.  I am guessing if they were in a bag of marinade for dinner that night you would not have had a problem. 

[JLS]

I guess we need a definition of "in the field" i've always looked at it as the area between where i'm hunting and where i'm staying, whether thats a camp, house, resort etc.  once I've transported an animal to the place that I'm staying, I don't think I'm "in the field" any longer and can process or eat my game as i choose.

I have always looked at it that way as well. Once I have gotten to were I am sleeping and the game is hanging or in the cooler I am no longer in the field.

Pretty sure your camp is still considered in the field.

[Special T]

as with most leagalize you need to look up the defintion of "in the feild" there MUST be a definition, but it may not be easy to find. I have searched out several definitions in the past and it seems to be a game of hide and go seek. 

[Wacenturion]

I give an example how the WDFW give them selves a bad rap, but it has NOTHING to do with LEO's  It has been talked about in another thread however... The WDFW supplemented the CRP program some years back. You got points for giving hunters acess to the property. Well the WDFW also put "written by permission only" signs on CRP ground where permission was specifically denied. I think this was done to make numbers look good that they had gained X amount of acres for hunting when the rality is they only provided habitat. I know many hunters are mad because they think that there was an interest in letting hunters hunt, when there was not. ALSO landowners have not enrolled in the WDFW programs because of the issues had with people hounding them for permission.   
I think this was a slight of hand that left a bad taste in many peoples mouth. Legally ANY land is Hunting by written permission only so by postin the sign they did nothing Legaly wrong, however they lost credibility with BOTH farmers and hunters. This is really too bad because Hunters NEED more access, and Farmers that may sign up fro a program are now more hesitent, and prefer to just give permission on thier own. 

Not quite the way you describe it.  During the 90's private land that made the grade for CRP enrollment with the help of WDFW's Upland Wildlife Restoration Program for the most part was designated Feel Free To Hunt.  Assistance was given in the form of cistren installation so the farmer could get the necessary water availability points to qualify.  In doing so Feel Free To Hunt was the primary option and used whenever possible.  Perhaps some areas may have had Permission type signs, which could have been possibly due to earlier enrollment, unique circumstances or just outright someone using a Department sign...it does happen.

Numbers as you say were through the roof as far as statewide private acres under agreement through one of several access programs.  There was absolutely no need to pad the books.  During the mid to late 90's there was approximately 3.2-3.5 million acres total.  CRP did add a bunch quickly and as I said was primarily under the green signed Feel Free to Hunt.

You can say all you want in the negative sense regarding lands open through those programs, however most was valid and accessible in different ways.  Most of what you hear is just disguntled perspectives and was due in a large part to laziness on some hunters part by thinking they could show up the morning of or during the season and get permission.  Doesn't work that way.  Sure some areas were reserved for family opening weekend or week, then open.  Nothing wrong with that if that is the deal maker to provide access on some lands.

In other cases landowners would give permission to hunt deer, but no upland birds.  Reason being they didn't have but a few pheasants and in addition the landowner's wife had taken a liking to them, and she preferred that they be left alone.  Nothing wrong with that either, just ask someone who harvested a nice buck on said place.  I could give you plenty of examples of why and why it benefited hunters irregardless of what one hears.

Was there abuse by landowners?  Yes in some cases there was.  However in most cases they either met obligations or were dropped from the program.  Carping about something is in the human nature.  If one wants to be successful, it involves more than just pulling the trigger.  It requires time spent developing relationships over time.  Get turned down one year, go back early the next.  Most of the permission game is the evaluation of you as a person.  Once a landowner feels comfortable with the fact you'll obey the laws, shut gates, don't leave garbage etc., he'll probably warm to you.  Thus the long term relation begins.

Easy way to view it....put yourself in their place and ask the same question people carp about....family only opening, limited number of hunters, no hunting certain areas of the farm or certain species.  If you lived there as well it would be crystal clear.

In summary is WDFW faultless....absolutely not.  Many things they do are flat out stupid.  Meetings, meetings, meetings, studies, studies, studies with no actual boots on the ground as far as improvements.  Lots of planning equals safe time and robust excuses to hide their inability to do things...period...fact!

The above mentioned program dealing with habitat improvement, hunter access, wild turkey introductions, and landowner relations statewide to mention a few responsibilities, did not fall into that meaningless mold.  That's just why it is no longer present in the original form.  Gutted and reduced to a custodial program now, just like the Wildlife Area Program, which has always been custodial.  Scared to many "go to meeting excuse maker power types" who run WDFW.

Pretty damn sad what WDFW continues to be through lack of real leadership.  Good folks...yes, many of them......lousy ones....for sure.  What a agency waste of collective education and year's of experience in my opinion.

[Special T]

WDFW posted "BY PERMISSION ONLY" on many pieces of CRP where there was NO intent to Give permission. THAT is how the WDFW gave themselves a bad rap. How do i know? My Brother in Law is a farmer that got CRP funds despite NOT wanting to give permission to hunt, and still had signs posted on his property. Why did they do this? To claim more acres open to hunting than they actually had. It makes the land owner look bad and deflects their role.