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Wildlife Detectives: Many Poachers Uncaught, Lightly Punished In NW

Tony Schick
/
Earthfix

The U.S. is increasing its efforts to combat global wildlife trafficking. But resources have diminished for catching poachers stateside.

For our series on wildlife crimes, EarthFix reporter Tony Schick takes us to Central Oregon, where Fish and Wildlife troopers are struggling to protect a mule deer population that’s in decline
 

BEAN: “ Hello .... State Police ...“

Oregon Fish and Wildlife Trooper Darin Bean is searching a home in the backwoods of La Pine, Oregon.

BEAN: “Boy, there’s a lot of little rooms in this place …”

A few months ago he caught a man here who illegally shot and stashed the carcass of a breeding female mule deer.

He’s following up after a missed court date.

BEAN: “This is where they had the deer.”

He peeks around a dark doorway and shines his flashlight into a stained bathtub.

BEAN “You can see there’s still deer blood ... in the spare bathroom, ya know.”

Mule deer have been in sharp decline here and poaching is one reason why.

It turns out at there are as many deer being killed illegally as there are by law-abiding hunters.

Declining budgets have left Oregon and Washington with fewer Fish and Wildlife troopers than they had in the 1980s. Both states are poised to lose more troopers this year.

Bean and his partner James Hayes are the only Fish and Wildlife officers patrolling more than five thousand square miles.

Meanwhile, they have less time to spend finding poachers. Their workload now includes more general law and time spent on safety checks for boats and ATVs.

BEAN: “Yeah, the days of just solo fish and wildlife are … not anymore.”

On one shift alone, Bean and Hayes handled arsons, hit-and-runs and burglaries.

Bean and Hayes still go hard after big poaching cases. They think Gene Parsons is one of those.

BEAN: “That guy -- one guy -- killed a tremendous amount of deer.”

They arrested Parsons in January and so far charged him with 15 counts of violating Fish and Wildlife laws.

Months later, he has yet to stand trial. He didn’t return phone calls.

BEAN: “He’d shoot 5-6 deer a night. And he’d cut the antlers off. With a chainsaw. And bring em home, and as far as we could tell sell the antlers.”

Credit Tony Schick / Earthfix
/
Earthfix
Oregon Fish and Wildlife Police seized several antler sets in the course of investigating suspected poacher Gene Parsons and others.

Where poachers sell remains a mystery to them.

But they recently received a tip about an antler dealer. He’s said to be in possession of several thousand dollars worth of stolen horns.

Hayes says if they can connect Parsons or other suspected poachers to this dealer, that could mean additional charges like racketeering.

Penalties for poaching aren’t always enough of a deterrent.

HAYES: “If there’s no jail time involved and it’s just monetary small fines, they’re not likely to quit … for your real criminals”

Some Northwest counties prosecute Fish and Wildlife cases aggressively. Others dismiss a high number of cases or reduce them to small fines.

Many lack the resources to go hard after poachers.

Just ask Ulys Stapleton, the lone Lake County prosecutor who handles a lot of cases from Bean and Hayes. His jail has 17 beds and he says most are claimed by people involved in drug-related crimes.

STAPLETON: “I understand why officers may be frustrated but you don’t have the resources to throw everyone in jail. So what I try and do is hit em up with a fine. Make it hurt for months at a time instead of a few days in jail.”

The sun is setting on a windy day in Lake County by the time Hayes stops his truck at the antler dealer’s gate.

Bean pulls up minutes later, along with troopers from Bend and John Day. They’re also tracking sales from poaching suspects.

HAYES: “Not home. It’s padlocked. Looks like one set of tire tracks came out of there maybe this morning.”

They meant to come earlier but Bean was called to a burglar alarm.

They wait outside the property for a few tense minutes before the dealer returns a call to Bend trooper Travis Ring.

BEAN: “Well what’s the word?”

He’s gone for the evening. The antlers have moved on. His sale records aren’t at the house, either.

RING: “I said, I’m trying to run down some stolen horns. Who do you sell them to? He said ‘I’m running a business and I’m not in the business of telling you where I’m selling my stuff.”

Out of options, they load up and roll out. And the hunt goes.

Copyright 2015 Earthfix

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