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Posts tagged: game wardens

California Game Warden Numbers Whittled Down to 100… For Entire State?

March 14, 2009, by Tom Chandler 17 comments

California already suffers from the lowest number of game wardens per capita of any state in the USA (or Canada for that matter), with approximately 200 currently patrolling the state.

Still, that number may soon be a nostalgic memory; budget cuts could force a further reduction to only 100 wardens for the entire state.

With California’s financial crisis worsening, the news only gets worse. If employee furloughs to save budget dollars aren’t enough, as many as 45 percent of the state’s already-beleaguered “environmental cops” will be gone.

At that point, there would be only 100 game wardens to police the entire state.

Poachers and idiots already operate in California with a large degree of impunity, and imagine their newfound freedom to operate when the numbers of law enforcement officers falls below the triple-digit mark.

Wildlife is already suffering the impacts, though – sadly – I think we haven’t seen anything yet.

A video production company produced a documentary about the problem, which will hopefully open a few legislator’s eyes:

The Underground has chronicled its admiration for our local “Ghost Warden” Joe Powell and hope he – and his colleagues – aren’t hung out to dry.

game wardens, snow goose productions, poaching, poachers, califorrnia wildlife, ghost warden

California Fishermen Waiting for Salmon Runs: Are All Game Wardens “Communists”??

November 1, 2008, by Tom Chandler 1 comment

California’s salmon runs were so dismal last season that the commercial fishery was largely canceled, and the result was a serious economic hit to the state. From the Recordnet.com: Salmon run watched with wary eyes:

A normal season would see up to six months of fishing with two fish per day. But wildlife managers decided in May to cut inland fishing dramatically – a potential $20 million hit for the state economy – due to plummeting numbers of adult fish returning to spawn last fall.

Ocean fishing was also canceled, exponentially increasing the economic toll in California to $255 million.

The salmon crash has been blamed on a slew of potential factors, including poor ocean conditions, a loss of river habitat and the export of water from the Delta.

Game Wardens Communists??

Oddly, the first reader comment to this story noted that California hires so few game wardens that effective enforcement of salmon fishing limits was a joke. That observant comment was followed by one that truly highlights the failure of either our public schools or laws against the marriage of family members: