President Kevin O'Brien:

Happy Anniversary, FWOA! FWOA is ten years old, and we have packed this issue with some interesting articles, insights, and remembrances. Having been intimately involved since the beginning - first as Region 5 rep, then as secretary/treasurer, and now as president - I can truthfully say that we have come a long way, and I am pleased that we continue to move forward with this organization. Let us not get complacent in our efforts to keep this Association viable. It takes great amounts of time and effort by dedicated individuals to maintain the cohesiveness that is so necessary for this organization to succeed. My sincere thanks to all those who have served FWOA throughout the last ten years, and to our members, associate members, and ardent supporters, who believe not only in the conservation of the natural resources we strive so hard to protect, but in the people who pin on the badge and get the job done.

A hearty welcome to a new charter member, Demarion McKinney. Thank you for your support.

Len Lisenbee continues to convalesce at home. I urge all members to donate whatever leave you can to help Bee through this difficult time. Leave donations can still be made through the Region 5 personnel office. If you have any questions, call me.

Bill Halainen, editor of this newsletter and supporter of FWOA since its inception, will no longer be putting our newsletter together. Bill is the wearer of many hats, and has had to divest himself of some of his current tasks. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with Bill and I thank him for all his guidance and support over the years. FWOA wishes him continued peace and happiness.

The new editor/organizer for the newsletter will be Ann Thornton of Rodan Graphics. All articles and other items for inclusion in the newsletter should be sent directly to her (after January 1st) at 10440 Courtney Drive, Fairfax, VA 22030-8100.

Vice President Mike Lucckino

A thanks to all the past and current officers and regional representatives and members (below) who shared their views on FWOA with you this issue. Your contributions are greatly appreciated. It's easy to see why FWOA is successful with members like you dedicated to wildlife law enforcement, the Service and each other.

At the NAWEOA conference in July, I met a game warden from South Dakota named Lee Luding. He told me about a way in which he recruits informants. You may want to give his method a try. He spends time at waterfront recreational areas that have resorts, restaurants and boat launching sites. They are open almost year round. He talks to the waitress, right after a bunch of fishermen or hunters give her a hard time. He figures that they brag about the number of fish they caught or ducks they shot to impress her. The waitress is not impressed. they leave her a very small tip. Lee, a regular, talks to the waitress and explains the state-operated TIP (Turn in a Poacher) program - the promise of anonymity and a cash award for a prosecutable TIP. It took about two months before he received the first TIP from a waitress. He was able to present her with a check for $200. She could now earn a week's worth of tips for keeping her ears open for bragging hunters and fishermen who gave her a hard time. It's easy to call TIP when customers are obnoxious. It wasn't long before she told all her waitress associates and other TIPs were reported. Lee uses his time wisely by not being seen at restaurants, since other people are now looking and listening for him.

Info from  Ken Mcloud regarding a Special Ops three-year investigation: A federal grand jury sitting in Orlando, Florida, charged six people with a multi-year conspiracy to smuggle hundreds of rare snakes and tortoises from Madagascar into Canada and the U.S. for sale to collectors and wildlife dealers. Allegations include transporting the protected animals from Madagascar to Europe. They were then shipped from Europe to Canada and the U.S., usually concealed in airline passenger baggage. The following were charged: Frank Lehmeyer, 42, Frankfurt, Germany; Wolfgang Michael Kloe, 33, Rauenberg, Germany; Enrico Joseph Traunt, 30, Windsor, Ontario, Canada; Olaf Strohmann, 34, Germany; Roland Werner, 34, Germany; and Simon David Harris, 25, Blairgowrie, South Africa. Congratulations to Ken and the Special Ops team for their work in this investigation.

According to the Arizona Republic, Senator John McCain planned in September to seek legislation which would require federal agencies to require an audit of overtime pay to determine the extent to which it's being abused. AUO is at question, particularly within INS. We will probably be spared, as we are now on availability pay. The outcome of Senator McCain's effort is not known. Speaking of AUO, the September/October, 1989, issue of this newsletter reported that then Senator Bob Dole had introduced an amendment in Congress that would allow AUO to be paid at the actual grade and step level of the federal law enforcement officer, not at the GS-10 salary level. Yes, at one time, officers would get AUO based on 25% of a GS-10 step 1, no matter what the grade level. Bob Dole said, "Mr. President, this is not a pay issue - it is an issue of simple equity."

New Dues Policy

The following now apply to dues in FWOA, effective with the publication of this newsletter:

A member who is two or more years in arrears will be dropped from membership rolls.

The secretary-treasurer will send a renewal reminder to any member who is one year in arrears. A charter member dropped due to non-payment of dues may reinstate his or her membership by paying $15 per year for every year in arrears.

An associate member who is dropped due to non-payment of dues may rejoin by paying $10.

FWOA will give a free coffee mug to a member who renews for at least three years. To qualify, the member must not be more than one year in arrears.

To encourage new charter memberships, FWOA will offer the option of a payment plan for charter members.

A prospective charter member must pay an initial fee of at least $25 to join. Additional payments of at least $25 may be made to complete the membership. Payments that extend over more than one twelve-month period will be increased by $15 to cover the cost of annual membership.

FWOA ACTIONS:

FWOA Comments on Draft Regulations

On June 11th, President O'Brien sent the following letter to the Director of FWS commenting on the regulations regarding the prohibition against artificially altering or manipulating natural vegetation in moist soil areas to attract waterfowl for hunting purposes (Federal Register, Vol. 61, No. 57, Friday, March 22, 1996). Here's the text of FWOA's letter:

The Federal Wildlife Officers' Association questions why the Fish and Wildlife Service, at this point in time, feels it necessary to even contemplate the idea of revising the existing baiting regulations. The Association is well aware of the United States v. Hogan and finds it incredible that the Service would bow to political pressures and propose to legalize baiting. Those who favor manipulation of natural vegetation in moist soil areas have but one goal and that is to kill more ducks. Moist soil manipulation is, as proposed by those who want more killing opportunities, temporary at best. Further, it concentrates birds for the benefit of those who can afford to belong to private clubs and limits the hunting opportunities for those whose ethics are sound. It will result in over-bagging, generally higher hunter success, and higher numbers of unretrieved cripples. Good habitat restoration and management for the long term is a better approach to the problems affecting deteriorating habitat conditions and declining waterfowl numbers. We believe that if this proposal was readily available to the general public, there would be an outcry from ethical duck hunters against this legalization of baiting. From a law enforcement perspective, the legalization of this type of waterfowl baiting will result in more creative ways to use this to the advantage of the baiter. As it is now, there are those who have spent years perfecting their ability to circumvent and outright flaunt the existing baiting regulations, all for only one reason, to kill more ducks. It has also taken time for wildlife officers to learn how to recognize, document, apprehend and prosecute these types of violations.

Officers, prosecutors and judges would have to be reeducated in moist soil vegetation manipulation in an effort to determine legal or illegal baiting. The advantage would clearly be with those who have perfected their baiting techniques and the waterfowl resource would surely suffer. There is no need to change or tinker with the existing baiting regulations. The Federal Wildlife Officers' Association urges the Fish and Wildlife Service to turn a deaf ear to those who spew forth fraudulent concepts for the singular purpose of luring and killing more waterfowl. Think instead of long term solutions which involve sound scientific ideas and hunter ethics.

FWOA REFLECTIONS AND COMMENTS:

The Consistency Study and the Formation of FWOA

In late 1985 and into 1986, the writing was on the wall. Behind the rhetoric and personnel classification manuals, it was apparent that all agents were to be downgraded. But there was a more insidious question: If they succeed at this, then what next?

We fought the battle as best we could. But you cannot win a fight which is on someone else's terms! We were attempting to justify our grades using personnel's terminology. We soon learned that personnel didn't care about danger or risk or resources; they cared only about classification standards that they selected as appropriate. (Note: We still do not have our own standards!)

They conceded one of their standards, the one pertaining to level of responsibility, but in essence you got nothing for it. Then they said, "Let's talk case complexity." They said that migratory bird investigations are too simple. We said, "What about resources?" They smiled. We were playing a game we could not win.

Those were extraordinary times which called for extraordinary determination under extraordinary risk. Let no one muddy the historical record. A number of agents who knew several prominent Congressmen and Senators took substantial risks to do the right thing, to stop the madness.

The Honorable Walter P. Jones and the Honorable John Breaux were briefed on the situation and provided with copies of the evidence. The letter that they crafted to the newly-appointed director of FWS stopped the consistency study in its tracks. That letter is printed elsewhere in this newsletter. It should be mandatory reading for all agents.

Walter Jones' chief of staff, Floyd Lupton, knew about FWS agents because his brother was one. The other authors of the Jones-Breaux letter shall for now remain anonymous, since they still serve the government. To them we say: "We know what you did, and thank you again. We remain in your debt."

While all this was going on, a group of agents was in the process of creating FWOA - getting it incorporated and raising money for a fight. A second front, if you will. But that second battle was never joined. Personnel folded.

The bitterness of those days now seems gone. But it's like a cancer in remission - you just never know for sure.

It wasn't about grade levels. It was about resources and whether or not 200 men and women would be supported or derided for doing well.

If you look at the situation today, a decade later, you see eerie similarities to that time. Politicians are raving about "jack-booted thugs" and about "government helicopters." Is our guard up, or are we suffering from malaise? Do we need a strong association? Are we as courageous and determined as we once were? Are the younger troops up to the task? Sooner or later, we will see.

Don Patterson Richmond, Virginia First FWOA President

FWOA's Role in the Future

Congratulations FWOA! Any organization that lasts ten years has to be doing something right, and I feel that we can all pause and reflect back with pride on our Association's efforts. Having been actively involved as a regional rep, vice president, and president, I have had the privilege of working with many terrific Association supporters and would like to take this opportunity to personally thank everyone for their help along the way.

As our Association looks toward the future, members will be deciding where to focus our efforts and how to best achieve those goals. Few groups are as uniquely qualified as FWOA to articulate the future needs of federal wildlife law enforcement ("Law Enforcement 2000", if you will). In light of the Service's 19-year decline in the total percentage of its funding spent on law enforcement from six percent to under two percent, we have our work cut out for us.

Despite our limited financial resources, I believe that FWOA can have an important and useful role in the on-going debate over the future of federal wildlife law enforcement in general and within the Fish and Wildlife Service in particular. Consequently, efforts to raise the awareness of LE as a viable wildlife management tool should be encouraged as much as possible. Fortunately, comments I have received during the past year from various FWS managers and project leaders have been very positive regarding the future role of LE, and I am optimistic that this long-term decline will begin to reverse itself in the near future.

My thanks again to everyone who has made this journey a most memorable one.

/Pilot Greg Stover Tucson, Arizona Vice-President and Second FWOA President

Supporting FWOA

Time has passed quickly since I volunteered to serve as FWOA representative for Region 7. It was an interesting few years trying to prompt regional agents to scribble a few notes about some of their cases, pay their membership dues, sell FWOA hats, etc.

Unfortunately, there hasn't been much enthusiasm by our agents lately to serve as regional representative. This has led me to pause and appreciate the efforts of past and present association officers. I applaud all those who have worked thanklessly to elevate the association from its inception to the present.

My compliments to those members who show initiative and pride by shouldering additional responsibility, such as the publishing of the newsletter. In my opinion, the newsletter is an important component of the association. Members can stay informed about various issues and topics throughout the country. Reading highlights of cases can give an agent on unfamiliar ground the opportunity to speak to a pool of experienced agents on specific problems, i.e. contaminants, pesticides, etc. Seeing the accomplishments of FWS LE personnel can also be a morale builder.

My message to the membership is as follows: Support your association any way you can. Help market FWOA merchandise by buying various items, whether you need them or not. Give some as gifts to relatives or as a friendly gesture to associates for inter-agency cooperation. Get involved in a way that will benefit the association. Least of all, pay your dues in a timely manner.

Steve Tuttle Anchorage, Alaska Region 7 Representative

FWOA: A "Unified Voice"

Looking back over the past ten years, I think we were very fortunate to have formed our Federal Wildlife Officer's Association. It gave us a unified voice in important issues concerning our members, such as the consistency study and administratively uncontrollable overtime (AUO). New issues are always arising, and we have had (and still have) very dedicated officers serving us.

I especially like the newsletter, which keeps us informed about law enforcement issues, and what's going on around the country. I think we should be more actively involved in making decisions for wildlife protection. I realize that's difficult because we don't have a lot of money and no paid staff. We still need FWOA. Let's work to make it better.

David Duncan Duluth, Minnesota

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