Community > Advocacy, Agencies, Access
WA court: Farmer had right to shoot cherry-picking elk
Coasthunterjay:
thanks Slenk...i was actually really worried about the reaction i might get for my post.....you know i am not against prosecuting poachers... and yes i feel bad that 20 elk had to die. but he wasnt targeting certain bulls of huge size and he wasnt selling or making lies up at the local bar about what he had done. he was simply keeping food on his table for his family!...but think of it this way....it took 20 elk to get the WDFW off there asses and do there Jobs! holy *censored*....you would think that 1 or 2 dead would stir something up, but obviously the coffee and donuts were just to good.....and with poaching, there is a line at which we can call poaching and a line at which it isnt poaching...the funny thing about it is we as hunters should all now what the difference between those two are. and by telling you all his standpoint....now you know! this farmer tried to his best abbility to do the right thing and if you read this article it shows and says that.......
DOUBLELUNG:
CHJ - my only negative reaction to your post is the assumption in your follow-up, that the orchardist's complaints didn't get addressed due to "but obviously the coffee and donuts were just to good.....". That's a low shot at the wildlife officers, and would be like me, as a non-military person, criticizing you as a military guy for screwing off stateside when all the terrorists haven't been caught yet. That would be ignorant and uncalled-for; just like your slam on the wildlife officers.
WDFW enforcement officers in Eastern WA are a skeleton crew. So are the bios, fish wildlife and habitat all. They work hard, and it's not their call that higher-ups have pulled most of their workforce over to the west side to primarily work ESA fish issues; nor that they have been directed to prioritize law enforcement over wildlife damage. As a military man (I think, forgive me if I'm wrong), I think you are aware of allocation of limited resources? Don't rain sh*t on the grunts in the field, odds are they'd do their jobs differently if they set their own work priorities.
WDFW does a really piss-poor job of managing game damage, and a lot of other things too. I think the agency's priorities are really screwed up; especially when over half of the work force is in Olympia, with less than 1/2 actually working in the field. But, don't assume the MINORITY of the outfit working in the field want it that way. I'd love to see the outfit get back to its core mission of managing fish and wildlife - so would the WDFW employees in the field, so would a lot of the grunts in Oly too. Direct the blame squarely where it belongs - at the political appointees.
I don't know Yakima Region enforcement well enough to speak of them, other than knowing there are some very good officers - probably the vast majority. Here in Wenatchee, which is a 5-officer detachment on paper, there are two officers - and sometimes they get pulled over to the west side to work fish too. Leavenworth hasn't had an officer since the last one retired in April 2002! Wenatchee has had one position vacant for most of a year, and one position vacant for most of THREE years. So, while on paper there are 5 officers for all of Chelan County and western Douglas County (Leavenworth, 3 in Wenatchee, and Chelan); the reality is there is one officer in Chelan, and one officer in Wenatchee. Oh, wait - the guy in Chelan has to help cover for the Okanogan Detachment, because Brewster is vacant!
Pend Oreille county just got one officer, finally, after having NONE since (?) ... it's the same all across Eastern Washington.
I understand your frustration, and share it too - but don't assume the problem is the guys in the field! I'd say 95% of the officers and bios are doing as best they can, and better than should be expected, with the limited resources they get. And, as an added bonus, they have the constant joy of an unhappy public, each of who has their own idea of what that job's priority should be; and the knowledge they ARE part of a lousy outfit that will kick them loose in a heartbeat if doing their job gets politically unpopular.
I'm glad the orchardist got off - he should. But, don't blame the officers and bios in the field unless you know it's justified, they already have an unwinnable position. Lay the blame squarely where it belongs, on Washington state government, and the elected and appointed officials who mis-allocate resources AWAY from core mission to make their own lives comfortable. In this example, lay the blame on the Director, the Commission and the Governor.
Ray:
I agree with this ruling. If the farmer's concerns were not addressed it was because someone in the department or the agency in general neglected their duties to the public.
sisu:
Coasthunterjay and doublelung both have good points. I know one warden and she has way too much territory for one person, but that is the way the sate does it.
Having more access for hunting farm land would be nice.
Coasthunterjay:
--- Quote from: DOUBLELUNG on February 16, 2008, 02:50:54 PM ---CHJ - my only negative reaction to your post is the assumption in your follow-up, that the orchardist's complaints didn't get addressed due to "but obviously the coffee and donuts were just to good.....". That's a low shot at the wildlife officers, and would be like me, as a non-military person, criticizing you as a military guy for screwing off stateside when all the terrorists haven't been caught yet. That would be ignorant and uncalled-for; just like your slam on the wildlife officers.
I'm glad the orchardist got off - he should. But, don't blame the officers and bios in the field unless you know it's justified, they already have an unwinnable position. Lay the blame squarely where it belongs, on Washington state government, and the elected and appointed officials who mis-allocate resources AWAY from core mission to make their own lives comfortable. In this example, lay the blame on the Director, the Commission and the Governor.
--- End quote ---
first of all im not going to argue the difference between F&W officers between yakima, olympia, west, eastern, or anywhere......i Dont care....all i was stating was that i think its pathetic that we read that it took over 20 ELK to finnaly get noticed for this to finally go to court....I DONT CARE WHOS FAULT IT IS but some one was sitting on there asses doing nothing or hiding the paperwork under the rest on there desk when something could have been done to prevent 20 elk from being shot! put the blame on whoever makes you feel good but it wasnt the farmer......you can calm down and be rest assured that i wasnt accusing any individual officer......not one man can do everything......
And you couldnt possably understand the difference you put me and everyother serviceman in when you attack me saying that it would be my fault that as a military guy(because thats all i am) screw off all the time stateside when all the terrorists haven't been caught yet, even as an example....were the hell do you get off even saying stuff like that.....I personnally myself have saved half a dozen lives and have stopped over half a billion dollars(yes billion) in Drugs and probably close to 1000 migrants from comming into this state(so i actually probably saved a hundred lives with that said). and you want to even compare the work that the state is doing compared to what i do.......you are sadly confussed......thats like comparing apples and oranges with a watermelon and a nut............
This problem with not having the right amount of officers in the right places is bull......and most the people on this website now that. i wasnt saying that every WDFW officer is a bad guy....i wasnt stating that any are. i was stating that WDFW as a whole....the State itself!...yes there are a shortage of WDFW officers but there obviously not doing enough to fix that....three years and they still cant find a replacement.......
aaAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.......its exactly as Huntwa states......."somebody neglected their duties " i dont care who but they did........
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