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scopeitout

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why is it every year we hear of all these animals being poached, some areas back to back years and nothing is being done. I have had a few tags in the past and have not seen any law while im out in the field. dont ya think utah should step it up a little?
 
Don't be soo sure that you have not seen any fish and game . They are out there . Another thing with Utah is the poacher incentive rules as far as people turning in poachers and getting tags .

I'm allways on the look out for a poacher with the hope I'll get a tag after the poacher is caught and convicted .
 
and thats what they are banking on is people catching poachers in the field, and in the mean time 30 deer are being poached elsewhere.
 
They are out there. They just have such large area's to cover that they can't be everywhere at once. I was checked twice last year on the deer hunt and was glad to see them, did'nt mind at all.
 
I like how Utah fish an Game handles their business based on numerous years of hunting , and also dealing with fish and game in numerous western states .

In Utah I think they do the best job they can with what they have to work with . Lets face it , they have tons of country to cover , and they are under staffed . I don't think it's realistic that they can be every where , and in every single drainage or canyon .

In some of the neighboring states I have seen where there seems to be more wardens assigned to specific areas , and that has been good and bad . I have hunted limited entry areas in Wyoming for elk and after 15 days of hunting I never saw a game warden . Then on the other side I have hunted antelope in Wyoming in one area where the same game warden checked my tags , regristration on all vehicles , guns , and basically every check minus a body cavity search , on three different occassions all on one week of hunting . He was wasting his time and mine , and can't figure how he could patrol his area if he was wasting that much time with every hunter .

So I'm pretty happy with Utah , and I hope they keep up the good work .
 
There are like 70 conservation officers in Utah. They work like 43 hours a week. There is no way they can cover their whole area (district) in a week (or hunting season). They do what they can. Plus they don't just play outside they have to go to court and push papers on top of patrolling. Utah is not nearly as spread out as Nevada or several other states. I think the people in the state need to step it up and turn in poachers.
 
It will be interesting to see what happens on the 29 unit deer hunt in 2012. I don't think they have enough officers to keep all units patrolled properly, there will be hunters hunting the wrong unit, because they couldn't draw there first choice
 
Hunters need to "step it up a little" and keep an eye out while in the field. Do you expect the cops to protect your family if someone breaks in during the night? Poachers' worst enemy should be hunters....


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http://andymansavage.blogspot.com/
 
While I totally agree that the UDWR is understaffed to patrol everything I was disappointed last deer season when I seen two conservation officers patroling some private ground near here. I actually think private ground should fall under the land owner and local police department? What's your thoughts?
 
im just saying you would think they would put more officers out in the field. there isnt any hunts going on right now for the hunters to step it up and turn in poachers. they do a good job but there needs to be more done especially when the 29 units starts.
 
why is there so many comments about the number of units next year hampering the warden patrol? Did the state get bigger because of the split in units? I dont think so, keep their jurisdicion the same and you get the exact same coverage as today.
 
I think there is no difference between 29 units and the way it is now. If someone out there is going to hunt the wrong unit and break the law theve probably been doin it all along. Hunters arent suddenly going to turn into poachers just cause they cant get a tag in the unit they want. Remember if your a poacher you never needed a tag in the first place,and if youve always followed the rules your not going to start breaking the rules just cause there is more units to pick from. Wardens still have to cover the same amount of country, Utah didnt get any bigger.

I really believe most adult hunters nowadays are pretty respectful of game laws. I dont think it matters how many wardens are out there as much as it matters how the wardens handle the cases they get.
 
"There are like 70 conservation officers in Utah. They work like 43 hours a week. "

I expect most wardens put a whole lot more time in during the hunting season. There is an unbelievable amount of area for each warden to cover. I expect that many of them have found the value in glassing as hunters have. There are good wardens and those who are less so. We've a great warden in my area who has followed up on every report I've made to him.
 
>im just saying you would think
>they would put more officers
>out in the field.
>there isnt any hunts going
>on right now for
>the hunters to step it
>up and turn in poachers.
>they do a good job
>but there needs to be
>more done especially when the
>29 units starts.

good point, the off season is when most poaching takes place.......


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http://andymansavage.blogspot.com/
 
The only reason I bring up the 29 units, is as of now with five regions that puts approx. number of fish cops per region 14. That don't count cops patrolling LE units. Now with 29 units that moves the number of cops to about 2. Still not counting the number on LE OR the cops patrolling waterfowl the extended private land ect. The whole point of 29 units is to manage deer numbers on specific ranges. To manage deer on specific ranges hunters need to be managed. When nebo was shortened I ran into several hunters up there still hunting. Had no clue the hunt was shortened, but never saw a fish cop.
 
I have several friends who work for IDFG in various capacities and have to admit that they would love do more, if only allowed to do so. It is really a can't win situation for them. I would hate to have their job.

Budget constraints limit how many hours they can put into the job while in the field, vehicle time and mileage/gas is monitored, they support the required court appearances, and then their regular office paperwork takes time too. Add in helping on game surveys, check stations, presence at hunters ed., and their day fills up in a hurry. How'd you like being on-call 24/7 for 365 days a year?

I always take the time to visit with them in the field, and have learned many valuable bits of info from them. Support them when you see them, and help keep an eye out for the occassional lawbreaker yourself. Never know when you might be the one making a difference!
 
Blank not saying they don't do there job or not good at what they do. I know they would love to do more, they would not have gotten into there line of work without love for the outdoors, all I am saying is we might need more.An increase of hunters should mean an increase of law enforcement.As far as being on 24/7 365 trust me I know.
 
If we actually had 70 CO's in Utah, that'd be almost double.

At the moment, there are 40 CO's employed by the division. There are 12 vacant spots that I am aware of and at a price of a 4 year degree and enough LE training to get a job as an officer in Park City starting at $27/hr, I wouldn't expect too many to be jumping at the $15/hr with no overtime starting wage at the division, not to mention the budget cut they just gave themselves by cutting out the revenue from 13k deer hunters.

Under appreciated, under paid and the whining continues.

Thanks for all you guys do.
 
+1 Tree

I will say I have actually seen an increase in the number of COs that I see in the field.

I know some are better than others, but I personally know a couple that bust their ass and are fine fine employees and guys.
 
LAST EDITED ON Mar-02-11 AT 07:58AM (MST)[p]++1Tree,
These guys are WAY, WAY underpaid for putting their butt on the line every day to arrest some drunken "redneck" with a trunk load of guns. The ones I have encountered are doing their best.

If you have a beef, take it up with the current Rebublican lead Tea-Party legislature, who will undoubtedly take away funds for officers, not give them more!!!
 
well if you guys think that people other than fish n game are going to catch all the poachn and everything else then you guys are dead wrong. you guys want to say your waiting for a tag to be put in your pocket for catching a poacher. it ain't going to happen to all of ya. the fish n game do a great job but im just saying more in the field during winter months could help alot. I agree they do a great job for what they get paid. they should be paid alot more for sure.
 
hangfire, one of the benefits of individual unit management could be the ability to (if they want to or will) stagger season dates thereby a unit could be hunting during one period and a neighboring unit could be hunting earlier or later. That way the current (70) officers could cover more country that they are able to patrol under a system where every unit is being hunted at the same time.

Does that make any sense?

Secondly, if there's a hunt going on in one unit and not in another, those of us that see someone hunting a closed unit immediately go on alert to watch more closely what they might be doing.

Not suggesting in anyway there won't be plenty of kinks to work out but many of the old realities can be changed if the agency embraces the concept and works with the new options that unit management makes possible.

I've always said and continue to say, "if all we do is go to 29 units for the sake of just going to 29 units we will do nothing for the deer herd, and we aught not to do it. However, if we use unit management to implement systemic change in all we do with mule deer there is much that can be done to improve the health and viability of the herds.

There is much to do and many steps will need to be taken, some things will be done wrong and mistakes will be made but unit management can provide new opportunities that have never been possible under the old system. We need to start to think differently now.

DC
 
lumpy, that does make sense, and a good point. I do agree with your views on the 29 units. My concern is with the limited amount of officers, and everything else going on(waterfowl ,LE elk general elk, grouse chuckers ect) even if they only run 1/2 the units at once, officers will have there work cutout for them. Just hope everyone stays honest and this helps our deer heard.
 
"40 COs"? That's easy to fix. Triple or quadruple your license fees.

"You'd think they'd put out more during the off season"? Where will they get them? I have never seen anyone pull a warden out of their a$$

While they're over here the poachers are over there. Really? Do you know how stupid that sounds?

You guys crack me up. Oh and scopeitout, I bet Mr Ubiquitous Warden has seen you even though you haven't seen him.
 
maybe they have and I hope they do. im not talking about when we are all hunting during the season NVBIGHORN. When winter deer heards start gettting destroyed cause of this thats when im saying they need to get some more eyes out there. so dont think I havent been checked before. copy
 
>thats when im saying they
>need to get some more
>eyes out there. so dont
>think I havent been checked
>before. copy

copy that roger


Again, where will they get more eyes? Think about it. Forty COs for the entire state.

40
four zero
FORTY

Do you copy that?
 
I think what scopeitout is saying is if 40 CO officers is enough to patrol 94,000 hunters during the season, during the off season there is a lot less going on why can't they patrol the problem areas that has a bad poaching problem during the winter months.
 
The problem could be more easily solved if the punishment for violating Fish & Game laws was "real".

I am talking about making the penalties for violations so harsh, that it is not worth doing the crime to begin with.

In some cities/states, you can lose your vehicle for simply soliciting a prostitute. Selling pot can cost you your HOUSE! If you are caught poaching, why shouldn't you lose everything involved in the act?

It is so simple and I continue to be stunned at how few poachers and violaters, are REALLY nailed with appropriate fines.

Courts have been less than dilligent, in my opinion.

"whackin' a surly bartender ain't much of a crime"
 

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