Deer Season from a Conservation Agent’s Perspective

Deer season and the prior monthS are hectic times for Conservation Agents all across Missouri. This period means a lot of late nights, early mornings, call-outs and long hours. However, most Agents find the process of apprehending serious resource violators quite rewarding even though it can be a challenging feat in some cases. One of the more commonly reported violations during this period is “Attempting to Take Deer with the Aid of Artificial Light.” There are many enforcement techniques used to apprehend spot lighters ranging from saturation patrols, airplane patrols, decoy deer operations and solo spotlight patrols. There are pros and cons to all of these techniques regardless, all of them require good public information, a degree of patience and dash of luck. The statistical probability of a spot lighter driving by and shining the same field an Agent is working at that particular moment is not incredibly high, however generally good public information and a little tenacity will usually pay off in the end.

During the hectic fall hunting season Conservation Agents encounter a wide variety of constituents, most of which are law abiding, ethical sportsmen. However from time to time we all encounter people that are less than law abiding ethical sportsmen. For example, just a couple of weeks ago myself and a couple of Agents decided to team up in an effort to curtail a rash of spotlighting activity along our adjoining county line. On this particular evening luck was in our favor, after stealthy monitoring a regularly targeted spotlighting field for a couple of hours we observed a spotlighting violation. To make a long story short, after a brief pursuit we took the subjects into custody. Since we knew one of the subjects was a convicted felon with a history of violence, the appropriate felony stop tactics were used to effect the arrest. After several hours of follow-up investigation we satisfactory resolved the situation by filing several charges.

A few days later after several routine hunter checks and addressing a few routine violations I got a call from the gentleman who was calling to tell me his daughter had shot an illegal buck (buck with less than 4 points). This particular call and the subsequent communications with this father and daughter pair has certainly helped me keep my role as a Conservation Agent in perspective. Based on the totality of the circumstances in this situation I merely issued a warning and moved on to other pending calls. A few days later I was surprised to receive a lengthy “Thank You” letter from this father. In this letter the father vividly described the situation from his perspective. The deer in question was his daughter first deer as one would expect she was incredibly excited when he called to tell him about the buck she harvested. Apparently she had unsuccessfully attempted to harvest a deer for the past few years, this fact combined with her level of excitement made it particularly difficult for him to call a Conservation Agent to essentially report his daughter’s violation. In his letter he stated he thought I would likely seize her deer and issue her a summons. Additionally, he also acknowledged he could have just lied when they checked the deer and could have likely got away with it, however in the end he chose to lead by example and do the right thing even though it wasn’t particularly easy for him. In his letter he wrote “I have tried to raise my daughter to be honest, so I had no choice but to report the violation.” When he decided to make the phone call his daughter’s excitement instantly shifted to disappointment and concern. As a Missouri sportsman myself it makes me proud to be in the ranks of sportsmen such as this father and daughter pair, their self imposed ethical code of conduct is commendable. In hunter education courses, we routinely use Aldo Leopold’s definition of an ethical sportsman: “Doing the right thing even when no one else is watching.” This father will serve as an excellent example of an ethic sportsman for me in future Hunter Education courses. Lastly, I need to thank this sportsmen for the perspective he has given me during this period of deer season chaos; it would be easy to focus on the defiant serious resource violators we encounter this time of year. No doubt an Agent’s primary priority is to proactively seek out and arrest heinous resource violators, but it is nice to be reminded from time to time in Missouri we are fortunate to have a lot of truly ethic sportsmen such as the father and daughter pair described above. Every year in Missouri, thousands of these ethical sportsmen take a stand for the conservation of Missouri’s natural resources by reporting violations.

Disclaimer: I don’t want to inaccurately lead anyone to believe that by merely turning yourself in after violating a conservation regulation one will automatically receive a warning. The enforcement action taken by a Conservation Agent is based on the totally of the circumstances associated with the particular violation in question.

Florida Hunter Arrest on Wildlife Charges

Click here to view the story.

Wildlife Code / Sportsmen Ethic Charges Filed

While on routine patrol in the Mark Twain National forest in eastern Boone Co. I recently encountered a group of deer hunters walking out of the woods. As with most of my routine contacts I asked if they had any luck, all hunters indicated they hadn’t shot anything. Which was quite a surprise to me since one of the hunter’s had small amount of fresh blood on his right knee. As one would expect the presence of this blood served as a catalyst for a more thorough investigation into the matter. When all the dust had settled a confession was obtained and a summons was issued, as a 10 year veteran as a Conservation Agent I was even a little awestruck by this particular violation. The subject admitted to shooting a fox squirrel with a 7 mm Magnum after the squirrel “agitated” him by “barking and wagging his tail” while he was deer hunting in the forest. The subject left the squirrel in the woods, because as any reasonable hunter would expect a 7 mm Magnum doesn’t leave much of the squirrel salvageable. The bigger violation in my mind is the flagrant conservation ethic violation. As sportsmen we frequently enter into the home territory of many wildlife species, so it shouldn’t be a surprised if some “large than life” critter tries to scold you for entering his territory. Sportsmen with the proper sportsmen ethic often get a chuckle out of the house wren or squirrel that is attempting to run a hunter out of the woods. The confidence, poise and determination that is demonstrated by a tiny house wren when a hunter enters the woods in actually quite admirable and impressive.
Thankfully, somewhere between 95% and 98% of the sportsmen and women that Conservation Agents contact each year never receive a summons from an Agent. The individual in the aforementioned case quickly pled guilty and paid $229.00 in fines and court cost.

Agent Rescues Bald Eagle

Agent Ben Pursley recently encountered an intriguing predicament. He found a bald eagle that had somehow become hooked by a limb line, after getting hooked the eagle got tightly entangled in line which ultimately left the bird hanging about ten feet above the water. Agent Pursley was well aware of this rescue could prove to be particularly challenging due to in part to the eagle’s talons and it’s understandably agitated state. Consequently Agent Pursley solicited the assistance from fellow Dept. employees. After rounding up some assistance they managed to rig together a pole saw using only a limb and a pocket knife. With wings flapping and talons flashing over their heads they were able to cut the line and drop the bird in the water. Agent Pursley then threw his raincoat over the bird, snatched it out of the water and placed it in a Rubbermaid container. The bird was then transported to the World Bird Sanctuary where it will nursed back to health and released back to the wild. The rescue went well, with only the casualty being one Agent rain coat; apparently the eagle took out his frustrations on the rain coat.

11 Shot Fired Leads to Arrests

Agent Travis Mills recently received one of those late night, poaching in progress calls which unfortunately occur more frequently this time of year. The reporting party informed Agent Mills, someone was driving back and forth down a road in front of her home firing shots into a field. The caller indicated that 9 shots had been fired by these subjects and there was no indication they were leaving the area immediately. While rushing to the scene Agent Mills received information that 2 more shots had been fired. Agent Mills requested back-up but none was immediately available so decided to work it out. Upon arrival, he stopped the suspect vehicle and promptly took the driver into custody. It was only after he had taken the driver into custody did he realize there was a second subject lurking in the darkness just yards away in the field. The second subject was also arrested without incident. After securing the scene Agent Mills found one dead deer in the field and dried blood in the bed of the truck. This dried blood caused him to launch a follow-up investigation that lead to the discovery of additional illegally taken deer. Multiple wildlife charges have been filed, thanks to another conservation minded citizen taking a stand against the illegal harvest of Missouri’s wildlife.
As we continue through this period of increased wildlife violations, Conservation Agents all across the state are requesting your assistance in curbing poaching. Without the assistance of conservation minded citizens, the effectiveness of an Agent’s wildlife enforcement program is greatly limited. The average Conservation Agent in Missouri is responsible for 417 sq. miles; however the pending staffing changes will soon increase the average Agent’s area of geographic responsibility to approximately 440 square miles. Thus the need for continued assistance from all those sportsmen who appreciate and possess a true conservation ethic is needed now more than ever. If you become aware of any conservation related violations contact your local Conservation Agent. Conservation Agent’s can be reached at by calling their home, via local sheriff’s department or through the Operation Game Thief system 1-800-393-1111.