ASSOCIATION WEB SITE CHANGES
The Association web site has been copied from its current location on my ISP account to a
virtual domain hosting service. The new web site is now up and running at http://www.fwoa.org
The move to the new server, besides giving us an
address we all can remember, gives us an opportunity to have a more interactive site that
loads faster and is easier to maintain. There is a link transferring the old home page to
the new. Don't forget to change your bookmarks and favorites.
It is important to remember that the site exists for the use and enjoyment of members of
the Association and, to a lesser extent, the public.To make the site truly the Association
site, I need your help in gathering Association specific content. If you have retirements,
personnel info, court cases, anything pertaining to members, the job, and our relations
with the public, please send them along to fwoa@nauticom.net.
Almost concurrently, the site itself has undergone
another face lift with more but smaller graphics, easier navigation and no frames. With
the help of several members we are attempting to clarify web site information regarding
the baiting issue.The extensive material and links to other material on the subject will
remain on the site. However, we are putting together critical information in a
``Frequently Asked Questions'' format to give visitors much easier, more readable direct
access to the issues and our position on those issues. Give them a look when you can and
make comments and suggestions regarding them to fwoa@nauticom.net.
Submitted by Dick Hart, Mercer, PA.
Following is an article which appeared in ``The Des
Moines Register'' on April 28, 1998, by Geoff Cooper,
Register Staff Writer.
MUSSELPOACHING FINES COULD REACH MILLIONS
A Muscatinebased clamming operation was indicted
on 59 counts of unlawful transportation and sale of
mussels. DARWIN ``BUTCH'' BALLENGER, his wife, CHERYL ROATEBALLENGER, and HARRY
SCHULTZ---all of Muscatine---were named in the federal indictment,
along with two Illinois men and a Wisconsin man.THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY SHELL CO., INC.,
and GREAT RIVER SHELL, INC., both run by the BALLENGERS, were also indicted.
The indictment alleges that the group illegally took mussels from restricted areas in
seven Midwestern states from 1993 to 1997. According to the indictment, several of the
defendants illegally harvested mussels from restricted areas, including the Rock River in
Illinois, the Otter Tail River in Minnesota, the Muskingum River in Ohio and the Sheyenne
River in North Dakota. Documents say the mussels were then purchased by BALLENGER's
Muscatine operation, which resells the clams internationally.
The mussel shells are generally sold to Japanese companies that use them to culture
pearls. The BALLENGERS, licensed as mussel buyers in Iowa, also are accused of making
false entries on mandatory Iowa reports and other documents. ``This is a very serious
violation,'' said WALT KOCAL, special agent with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, who
said more indictments may follow.
Agents raided the BALLENGER operation in April 1997. The U.S. Attorney's office said the
operation made about $300,000 in illegal mussel sales.
According to the U.S. Attorney's office in Rock Island,
IL, the defendants face up to five years in prison and
a fine of $250,000 for each of the 59 counts. Arraignment was scheduled for May 15 in
Davenport.
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MUSSEL BROKER RECEIVES FINE FOR ILLEGAL SHELL TRADE
A California man who sold shells of freshwater mussels taken in Illinois without a proper
license was fined $5,000 and ordered to pay an additional $2,500 for cost of a mussel
dealer's license, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, that led the
investigation of the case.
MICHAEL DAVID VENOVICH of Hemet, CA, paid the fine under a plea agreement with the U.S.
Attorney's Office in Peoria, IL. According to Service Special Agent GERALD SOMMERS, who
headed the investigation, VENOVICH was charged with selling freshwater mussel shells
without a license and violation of the Lacey Act, a Federal law that protects wildlife by
restricting interstate and foreign commerce in wildlife taken in violation of state laws.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Law Enforcement Division, and Illinois DNR officers
uncovered the illegal activity during 1994 and 1995. After checking records of mussel
shell sales, agents found that VENOVICH had brokered the purchase and export of nearly
34,000 pounds of shells from mussels taken from Illinois rivers. The shells, taken from
species of mussels called the threeridge and the washboard, were exported to Japan,
where they are the key component in the cultured pearl industry. The shells were sold for
more than $67,000. VENOVICH, it was discovered, did not possess the required Illinois
nonresident mussel dealer's license. Because the shells were not purchased legally and
were shipped out of Illinois and eventually out of the country, the activity violates the
Federal Lacey Act.
Freshwater mussels, especially the larger species, are harvested for their shells. Small
``cubes'' are cut from the shells, ground into small spheres and used as seeds in salt
water oysters for development of cultured pearls. A large proportion of the shells used in
the pearl industry in Asian countries comes from the United States, which has one of the
world's most diverse populations of freshwater mussels.
COVERT
TAXIDERMY BUSINESS NETS POACHERS IN WEST CENTRAL ILLINOIS
In 1995, at the request of the states, Illinois and Missouri special agents met with the
special operations
units of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (ILDNR) and Missouri Department of
Conservation (MDOC) to discuss the illegal killing and commercialization of trophy
whitetail deer, including deer being killed on the Delair Unit of the Mark Twain
National Wildlife Refuge, located along the Mississippi River in the Pike and Calhoun
County areas of western Illinois.The Refuge, noted for record class whitetail deer, was
routinely being found littered with headless carcasses from trophy class bucks. The
commercial trade in antlers was suspected to be the driving force behind the killings.
Labeled ``Project Esox'', the Illinois Department of Natural Resources conducted the two
and a half year investigation by establishing a covert taxidermy business in Pleasant
Hill, IL. The taxidermy skills of an Illinois Conservation Police Officer were utilized to
document potential state and federal violations. The covert officer was successful in
infiltrating these local poachers and successfully documented the illegal activity
occurring in this area.
On March 12, 1998, SA TIMOTHY SANTEL assisted the ILDNR execute numerous State search and
arrest warrants in conjunction with the 30month covert operation. During the takedown,
nearly thirty (30) subjects were charged for a variety of State wildlife and gunrelated
violations, including over limits of turkeys and deer, possession of state endangered
species, felon in possession, falsifying records, etc. Additionally, two of the defendants
were later arrested
on felony warrants for conspiracy to harass a witness when they obtained the identify of
the covert officer and attempted to make contact with the officer's family. Ten (10)
individuals were also identified as federal subjects who will be facing nearly one hundred
(100) counts for violations of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, Refuge Act and Lacey Act.
Federal charges are still pending in the Central and Southern Districts of Illinois for
these subjects.
The investigation revealed numerous federal wildlife violations, including unlawfully
killing deer on the refuge, unlawfully collecting shed antlers from the refuge, large over
limits of migratory waterfowl, killing migratory birds during closed season,, and the sale
of sport hunted waterfowl. Numerous waterfowl and deer mounts and carcasses were seized by
the officers and are being held as evidence.
Submitted by Timothy Santel, Region 3.
Next
Newsletter Deadline:
Sept. 15, 1998
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