https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1879607178744106&id=1079144188790413Wolf rescue incident #3:DISTURBING ISSUES REMAIN AFTER THE TIFFANY SPRINGS WOLF INCIDENT – USFS, USFWS AND WDFW – IT’S TIME TO COME OUT INTO THE LIGHT OF DAY!
On 12 July, a young USFS (According to a Capital Press article released today, we don’t really even know who she’s working for) employee was rescued by a Washington Department of Natural Resources Flight Crew. I spent time yesterday reviewing the dispatch tapes from the incident and I would personally like to commend Jill at NEWICC, the Okanogan County 911 Dispatcher, and the DNR flight crew! Their decision to go ahead with the rescue in spite of pushback from the wildlife agencies resulted in a speedy rescue. As we used to say in the Navy for a job well done, BRAVO ZULU!
But, the tapes reveal some interesting questions about the wildlife agencies and the Forest Service! New facts are emerging and these take up from where I left off in my previous postings.
FACTS:
1. During the 6 taped dialogs between the Okanogan Dispatcher and NEWICC (Jill), there was a specific time when Jill told the Okanogan Dispatcher that WDFW said the incident was a “Wildlife issue and not a Search and Rescue (SAR).
2. A joint statement by WDFW and USFWS public information officers (PIO’s) indicated that human life takes precedence over wildlife.
3. Outside stories said the USFS employee was conducting a salmon study in the area. According to sources, there are no salmon in that area
4. According to comments made during the rescue, the USFS employee was seen in the tree holding some telemetry equipment.
5. In a County Commissioners deposition, the Okanogan Sheriffs Office told the rescued employee to stay at Omak airport until the deputies arrived in order to interview her.
6. Before the deputies arrived at the airport, a USFS vehicle arrived at Omak airport and took the employee away. She has not been seen or heard from since the incident
7. The Tonasket Ranger District has not deployed any USFS employees to the field since this incident occurred.
8. WDFW and/or USFWS trappers are operating in the area of the Loup loup wolfpack.
Opinions:
1. WDFW DID try to shut down the DNR and OCSO rescue operation so they could affect the rescue. In the dispatch tapes, NEWICC (Jill) clearly states she was told this was a wildlife issue and not a SAR. This action runs contrary to what the joint WDFW/USFWS PIO statement suggests. What are these agencies hiding? Was this order given by WDFW Officer Troutman?
2. WDFW in cooperation with the USFWS and likely with the University of Washington are conducting an ungulate study throughout known wolf populated areas in Washington. In earlier field research I am conducting in other counties, I was told that a significant portion of the UW work may be occurring in the Northern Cascade ecosystem (the rescue scene is in the NC ecosystem). Is this what the employee was really doing? Where are the salmon streams in the Tiffany Springs area? The actions and activities of the WDFW, USFWS and USFS in this area requires more investigation and these agencies should come into the light of day.
3. The USFS for some reason did not want the rescued employee to speak with deputies. However, the deputies investigating the rescue told the employee to stay at the airport so they could interview her. By her leaving, she and those who took her away from the airport could face criminal charges for impeding an official investigation. Why did the USFS not allow the rescued person to speak with deputies?
4. There are only two reasons why the Tonasket Ranger District would be keeping employees close to home; the first and preferred reason would be in order to conduct a safety stand down and revise work protocols in areas where there are known apex predators. However, given the past conduct of the USFS District Ranger over his career, it seems more likely the employees are being directed on what to say about the rescue situation and about the operations surrounding studies in the Tiffany Springs and other areas of the county.
5. It should be reiterated that the sheriff has full authority over ALL law activities in his/her county over all other agencies. While many sheriff’s choose to cooperate with state and federal agencies, the sheriff has the right and duty to act when these agencies get out of hand.
Comments:
1. So, the plot thickens! What is really going on in the region near the rescue site? Salmon? I doubt it.
2. Back in the 1980’s a U.S. Navy ship came across a load of Vietnamese boat people who were in poor health and in bad condition on the high seas. The ship’s commanding officer ordered his crew to give the people water and food, but to not embark them onboard as the ship was on a timeline to make it to an exercise. The commanding officer was relieved of his duties for his failing to rescue those in peril. FOR AN OFFICER OF ANY LOCAL, STATE OR FEDERAL AGENCY TO STATE THE ISSUE WAS A WILDLIFE ISSUE and NOT a SAR ISSUE IS BEHAVING IN THE SAME MANNER as the ship’s commanding officer. Yet WDFW, USFS and USFWS is covering up something the public has the right to know and the need to know about in the interest of public safety!
3. For too long, these agencies have gotten away with shell games, lies, moving the goalposts and treating American citizens with disdain. ITS TIME TO CLEAN IT UP!
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