Remarks From the President - Mark Webb 

The Federal Wildlife Officers Association (FWOA) supported the proposed direct line authority for the Division of Law Enforcement and I am pleased to announce to you that it is scheduled to take effect on October 1, 2002.

Along with the direct line authority comes many other changes. Several title changes will take effect on October 1 as well, including the change from ARD to Special Agent in Charge (SAC), DARD to Assistant Special Agent in Charge (ASAC) and SRA to Resident Agent in Charge (RAC). Since Law Enforcement is not the division of any unit, its title will also change to the Office of Law Enforcement. The PD series for all Fish and Wildlife Special Agents will change from 1812s to 1811s. This is a change on paper only and is not anticipated to result in any other changes at this time, but it will allow all FWS agents to keep pace with other Special Agents in the Federal Government. The long term effects to all SAs could be extremely beneficial.

Minor structural changes will continue to occur over time as we all continue to adjust to the new line of authority. In the best interest of the wildlife resources and the FWS, it will be highly encouraged that all SAs maintain good working relationships with all other FWS programs.

The FWOA board, at the request of some of the members, has questioned Chief Kevin Adams and Assistant Chief Dick Marks on the issue of assigned weekend details and how they relate to overtime issues.

Special Agents are being assigned to work details on their regular assigned days off and no compensation is being paid to them. The Special Agents that have contacted the board are mostly concerned about lost time from families, not additional pay. The current system allows for a SA to take an in-lieu-of day for working on a Saturday, provided that the day is taken in the same work week as the Saturday, meaning that it would need to be taken off in the week prior to the Saturday being worked. No provisions have been offered for being assigned to work on a Sunday, except for LEAP time. Since almost all of us have many more LEAP hours than we need to qualify for the full 25% LEAP pay, it equates to working for free.

Some of the SAs are questioning that if we are being assigned to work and we are not being provided alternate days off, should we not expect to be paid for those hours. Chief Adams advised me that they have been in contact with the FWS Personnel Department and are currently awaiting guidance from them. As soon as the board is advised of any solutions, they will pass it on to all members.

I again encourage each and every one of you to become more involved within FWOA. If you have a concern or a suggestion, please pass it along to your Regional Rep or directly to one of the other board members. We are here to represent you and we cannot do that without your support. If you contact your Regional Rep make sure that he has a valid e-mail address and/or phone number for you.

Vice President Leo Suazo has been busy organizing a huge donation of Gore-Tex clothing items from FWOA to the Ranger Relief Fund. A large donation was made at the NAWEOA conference in Columbus, IN from items presented to FWOA from Gore Industries. SA Suazo has also recently made arrangements to accept a large donation of clothing items from a sporting goods supplier in New Mexico. Results of that donation will follow in the next newsletter. This program is a great opportunity for FWOA to increase the protection of our wildlife resources around the world.

In closing I again encourage all of you to GET INVOLVED!!!

Mark A. Webb, President, FWOA

Update on JC Bryant

You may want to send JC a card or call him at:
Rusk Rehabilitation Center
315 Business Loop 70 West
Room #227
Columbia, MO 65203-3248
573-817-2703

2nd Annual Torch Run/Walk

The 2nd Annual Memorial Torch Run/Walk at the NAWEOA Conference in Columbus, IN was again a huge success for FWOA. We had about 20 sponsors and about 125 runners/walkers sign up. FWOA organized the event as well as the Bar-B-Que after the event. From the funds raised at this event, FWOA was able to present a check for $4,500.00 to the North American Wildlife Enforcement Officers Museum to help in its construction. This event has made great strides in promoting FWOA at the NAWEOA conference and we hope to continue it for the next several years as the conference moves to Canada for the next three years. Plans are already underway for St. Johns, Newfoundland, in July 2003.

REGION 1

PHIL KNUDSEN, REGIONAL REP

No articles received from this region.

REGION 2

DOUG McKENNA, REGIONAL REP

REWARD OFFERED FOR INFORMATION IN CALIFORNIA CONDOR DEATH

Three partners in the California Condor Recovery Program are offering awards for information regarding the recent death of a rare California Condor. The USFWS is offering a reward of up to $10,000 as is the Peregrine Fund. The Arizona Game and Fish Department is offering up to $1,000.

It is believed that the California Condor #186 died sometime between August 28 and 30 in the Kaibab National Forest in northwestern Arizona. Male Condor #186 was hatched at the Los Angeles Zoo on April 15, 1998. He was transported to the Peregrine Fund's Hurricane Cliffs release site on the October 8, 1998 and released with eight other Condors on November 18, of the same year.

This Condor was expected to begin breeding at the normal age (six or seven years). Individuals with information they believe may be helpful should call: USFWS Special Agent in Mesa, AZ at (480) 835-8289, The Peregrine Fund at (208) 362-3716 or Arizona Game and Fish Operation Game Thief at 1-800-352-0700.

PRONGHORN MASSACRE

On December 9, 2000, ten pheasant hunters from Texas (5), Oklahoma (1), and Mississippi (4) conspired to kill as many Pronghorns as they could. This event was planned for months in advance and the Mississippians were going to take the meat home. They used three trucks to locate a herd and run them onto a private ranch near Kerrick, TX where they were prohibited from hunting.

Using 12 gauge shotguns with #7 shot and an AR-15, they chased and shot into the herd. Wounded Pronghorns were then run over with the trucks. During the frenzy, the trucks started three separate grass fires. Knowing the smoke would alert the volunteer firemen of the community, most the subjects fled. Two stayed behind and pretended to be the first to respond to the fire. Subsequent interviews resulted in the identification of the subjects.

Game Wardens from Texas, Oklahoma, and Mississippi as well as USFWS Special Agents interviewed the subjects and while they provided no cooperation or confessions, enough ballistic and blood evidence was seized to secure search warrants in Texas, Oklahoma, and Mississippi.

Analysis of the evidence by the National Fish & Wildlife Forensic Lab linked the evidence to the crime scene and the subjects. After indictment in Dallam County, TX Court on 3rd degree state felony charges of Taking Wildlife Resources Without Consent of Landowner (enhanced because of the use of a deadly weapon), all subjects agreed to plead guilty and the DA agreed to drop the enhancement.

While they were charged with killing 24 Pronghorns, the actual number was about 40. Fines ranged from $500 to $4,000 and each paid the state $1,260 restitution for the animals and $70 to Dallam County for fire suppression. Fines, restitution, court costs, and probation costs totalled $50,758. Additional penalties included a total of 870 days in jail (suspended), 28 years of active probation, 1,480 hours of community service, and 28 years revocation of hunting and fishing privileges.

R-2 AGENTS REPRESENT SERVICE LE AT ADVENTURE RACING SERIES

With support from Albuquerque LE, and through the Health and Fitness Program, Special Agents Glen Pye, Robert Romero, and Andrey Guidera (Team U.S. Fish and Wildlife, Law Enforcement), scored a second place Corporate Category finish in the Dallas, TX stop of the Hi-Tec Adventure Racing Series.

In a race that began near dusk and took contestants into the dark of night, Special Agents endured a brief race/swim to moored kayaks, 1.75 miles of kayaking, 6 miles of trail running, and 15 miles of mountain biking, with several special tests thrown in for good measure. During the latter half of the run and the entire mountain bike portion, SAs navigated with lights.

Sponsored and televised nationally by the Outdoor Life Network (OLN), race organizers singled out Team U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Law Enforcement as one of the television feature teams. SAs were seen at several stages of the race and at the medal podium, and luckily were not caught with their tongues out!

Through the SAs' dedicated training, the valuable support of Region 2 Assistant Regional Director Shoemaker, Deputy ARD Mowad, SAs, and the Division of Law Enforcement's Health and Fitness Program, SAs were able to give the Service LE some positive exposure.

The Health and Fitness Program was formulated to allow law enforcement and firefighting personnel fitness training time and incentives in order to attain and maintain fitness levels that allow them to perform safely. The HFP is a great means to get and stay fit, and to lay the foundation for the healthy post-retirement life Special Agents deserve. Through their achievement at the Hi-Tec Adventure Racing Series in Dallas, Special Agents Pye, Romero, and Guidera hope to encourage others to actively pursue ( or continue to participate in) their own personal fitness goals.

(For assistance in establishing and achieving personal fitness goals, contact your Regional Fitness Coordinator who is trained to provide such expertise and would be happy to assist you to help yourself).
Submitted by Charter Member Andrey Guidera

OPERATION NAVAJO BUCK

The U.S. Attorney's Office and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have announced the sentencing of 11 individuals for violating federal wildlife laws stemming from an investigation dubbed "Operation Navajo Buck." The 11 paid a total of $84,000 in fines, restitution and penalties, along with one aircraft forfeited to the court.

The investigation which began in 1998, focused on several big game guides based in Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico, who were suspected of unlawfully using aircraft prior to and during hunting seasons to locate deer and elk for hunting clients in northern Arizona. The investigation also focused on illegal guiding and hunting on the Navajo Indian Reservation.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service conducted the investigation with assistance from the Arizona Game and Fish Department and the Navajo Department of Wildlife. The prosecution was handled by Assistant Paul V. Rood and Camille Bibles of the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Arizona, Phoenix.

The following individuals were convicted of federal criminal violations for unlawful hunting on the Navajo Indian Reservation and sentenced as follows:

Daniel Smith, Jr., San Jose, CA, was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine and $25,000 restitution to the Navajo Fish and Wildlife Department. In a related civil action, a 1998 Buckeye powered parachute valued at approximately $10,000 was forfeited to the government.

Steven Stayner, Mesa, AZ, was ordered to pay a $1,000 fine. A Federal civil action seeking the forfeiture of a powered parachute aircraft owned by Stayner is currently being litigated for alleged violations of the Airborne Hunting Act.

Kenneth Clint Heiber, Red Bluff, CA, was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine and $25,000 restitution to the Navajo Department of Wildlife. In addition Heiber was ordered to abandon a trophy mule deer killed on the Navajo Indian Reservation in December 1997, and subsequently seized by Agents of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in March of 2000.

Joseph Aggi, Red Bluff, CA, was ordered to pay a $2,000 fine and ordered not to hunt for a period of two years.

Samuel S. Jaksick, Jr., Reno, NV, was ordered to pay a $4,500 fine and $7,500 restitution to the Navajo Department of Wildlife.

Julius Fontuna, Phoenix, AZ, was ordered to pay a fine of $2,500.

A. Paul Stewart, Phoenix, AZ, was ordered to pay a fine of $2,500. A federal civil action seeking forfeiture of a powered parachute aircraft owned by Stewart for alleged violations of the Airborne Hunting Act, is currently being litigated.

Mule deer videographer Ryan S. Hatch, Kanab, UT, was convicted of a criminal violation of the Lacey Act related to the taking of a mule deer on the Navajo Indian Reservation in 1997. Hatch was sentenced to five years probation and ordered to pay a $1,000 fine. Hatch's conditions of probation require that he be in full compliance with state, federal, and tribal regulations when conducting hunting related activities including scouting for game or video taping.

The following individuals paid Federal Violation Notices for unlawful hunting on the Navajo Indian Reservation as follows:

Daniel Smith, III, San José, CA - $5,000

Larry Nicolds, Garland, UT - $5,000

Mark LeFeyre, Tropic, UT

The investigation that led to the convictions was conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Division of Law Enforcement, with SA Kevin Ellis as the case agent. He received assistance from the Arizona Game and Fish Department and the Navajo Department of Fish and Wildlife. Numerous agents from several regions and state officers helped with surveillance, undercover work, search warrant preparation and execution, interviews, trial preparation, and property inventories. SA Ellis was presented with a plaque for "Appreciation of his wildlife conservation efforts in Arizona" given to him from the FWS agents stationed in Arizona before his departure to Colorado.

BIRD IN THE MAIL INVESTIGATION IN PHOENIX, AZ

Special Agent Solis, Mesa, AZ, received information from an U.S. Postal Inspector regarding a package that contained bird parts being sent from Arizona to New York with a non-existent return address. Postal Inspectors detained the package because it was leaking a red fluid. Upon inspection, Postal Inspectors found decaying bird parts surrounded by leaking red popsicles.

The bird parts were turned over to the USFWS and identified as Great Horned owl feathers, talons, wings, and head, Barn Owl feathers, and Wild Turkey feathers. SA Solis contacted the subject who claimed he picked the items from road kill during a road trip from Westhampton Beach, NY to Phoenix, AZ. The subject, who is not a Native American, picked up the birds parts for spiritual healing and to give to his Native American friends. The popsicles were used in an effort to preserve the bird parts when the subject mailed the items in Arizona. After being informed about the Migratory Bird Treaty Act by SA Solis, the subject agreed to pay an $850 Violation Notice and to dispose of any other protected bird parts he had in his possession.

MIGRATORY BIRD CASE FROM AUSTIN, TX

An investigation was initiated on July 15, 2002, after a confidential informant called the Texas Operation Game Thief hotline. The informant stated that a resident of Austin, TX was in possession of several protected migratory bird mounts such as hawks and owls. The investigation revealed that the individual purchased the mounts in the early 1990s from a now deceased taxidermist. A federal search warrant was executed on July 30, 2002 by San Antonio District FWS SAs and Texas Parks and Wildlife Game Wardens. The following items were seized pursuant to the warrant:

Migratory Bird Parts:

5 Woodpeckers, 1 Harris, Hawk Tail Fan, 1 Inca Dove, 1 Great Blue Heron, 2 Long-Billed Curlews, 1 Northern Cardinal, 1 Painted Bunting, 1 Common Moorhen, 2 Steller's Jays, 2 Kingfishers, 2 Sharp-shinned Hawks, 2 Harris Hawks, 2 Kites.

Migratory Bird Mounts:

1 Crested Caracara, 1 Red-Shouldered Hawk, 2 Red-Tailed Hawks, 1 Coopers Hawk, 1 Northern Harrier, 1 Burrowing Owl, 1 American Kestrel, 2 Screech Owls, 1 Barred Owl, 1 Great Horned Owl, 1 Barn Owl, 1 Pygmy Owl.

On August 19, 2002, the subject forfeited collateral in the amount of $3,500, abandoned the bird mounts to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and agreed to donate numerous wildlife mounts indigenous to Texas, to the future visitor center at the Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge.