Tag: Wayne Saunders

Here’s what we discuss:

New Hampshire is hiring!
Working on the coast
Coastal wardens are deputized for Federal enforcement
New Hampshire’s many fishing and hunting options
More open access land than many states
Contentious trail cameras
New regulations for tree stands
Many landowners will post permission and guidelines on their property
An unforgettable poaching case
“I killed seven deer.”
A dumped deer leg… with a registration seal
Persistence paid off
Cole’s background
No one’s path to becoming a game warden is the same
“If this is your dream, you can get here.”

Credits

Hosts: Wayne Saunders and John Nores

Producer: Jay Ammann

Art & Design: Ashley Hannett

Research / Content Coordinator: Stacey DesRoches

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121 CJ Box – “Three-Inch Teeth”

Posted on February 1, 2024 by nhfishcop10

Fans of Joe Pickett rejoiced at the news that the 24^th offering in the bestselling series would be available in early 2024. Now on the eve of the book’s release, celebrated author CJ Box returns to Warden’s Watch to discuss “Three-Inch Teeth”, a pulse-pounding tale that sees Joe join Wyoming Game & Fish’s Predator Attack Team on the hunt for a rampaging killer grizzly – but in true Box style, the bear may not be the biggest threat in the high country.

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Here’s what we discuss:

Inspiration for the latest book
Unprovoked bear attacks seem to be on the rise
A tragic ambush that killed an experienced guide
Same bear attacked the investigators’ helicopter
Investigators could not determine any reason for the animal’s aggression
Public safety vs. wildlife conservation
Wyoming Game & Fish’s Predator Attack Team
Bear attacks can happen quickly
Book raises thought-provoking ethical questions
A landmark corner crossing case in Wyoming
The mythology of bears
An update on the Joe Pickett television series
Incorporating technical accuracy into the story
“Three-Inch Teeth” will be available in hardcopy and digital formats
Preorder and find book tour dates at cjbox.net

Credits

Hosts: Wayne Saunders and John Nores

Producer: Jay Ammann

Art & Design: Ashley Hannett

Research / Content Coordinator: Stacey DesRoches

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120 Marshall Nych – International Game Warden Magazine

Posted on January 19, 2024 by nhfishcop10

Since its inception in 1984, International Game Warden Magazine has become known as the industry standard trade publication for wildlife professionals worldwide. Published in association with the North American Wildlife Enforcement Officers Association (NAWEOA), each quarterly issue is jam packed with features ranging from emerging technologies and detailed case investigations to book reviews and recipes. In this episode, editor Marshall Nych highlights some of the first-rate content you’ll receive when you subscribe.

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Here’s what we discuss:

Submitted first story to the magazine in 2010
Joined IGW staff in 2015, became editor in 2021
Full-time teacher, part-time Deputy Game Warden (Ret.)
Game wardens have the best stories, they just need to be told
Each issue has a theme
Regular features include:
- Front Lines
- Behind the Badge
- Timber-Tech
- Technology Toolbox
- Voices From Abroad
- Marshall Law
- International Digest
- book reviews, agency profiles, wild game recipes, and more!
Available in both hard copy and digital subscriptions
Anyone can subscribe on the IGWM website

Credits

Hosts: Wayne Saunders and John Nores

Producer: Jay Ammann

Art & Design: Ashley Hannett

Research / Content Coordinator: Stacey DesRoches

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119 Martin Thabault – Environment & Climate Change Canada

Posted on January 5, 2024January 5, 2024 by nhfishcop10

The Department of Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) is the Canadian equivalent to both the US Fish & Wildlife Service and the Environmental Protection Agency, and like the US agencies, ECCC is responsible for the protection and conservation of both the environment and wildlife for future generations. As a Law Enforcement Specialist and Operations Manager for ECCC, Martin Thabault’s responsibilities can extend from the Artic, Pacific, and Atlantic Oceans to the longest undefended border in the world.

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Here’s what we discuss:

What is the Wildlife Enforcement branch of Environment & Climate Change Canada?
Martin’s background and path to Ottawa
ECCC Wildlife Enforcement branch currently has nearly 100 officers
Main mandate is illegal wildlife trade and protection of migratory birds
ECCC also acts as a safety net for the protection of endangered species
Officers in remote areas can deal with both environmental and wildlife enforcement
Where’s Nunavut?
A duck baiting case in Quebec
Business was charged multiple times
Illegal logging and the import business
Identifying and sampling European eels; “a bit of a grey and slimy area.”
The value of sharing knowledge and experience
Working in coordination with US officers is beneficial to both agencies
Adapting to new and emerging technologies can be challenging

Credits

Hosts: Wayne Saunders and John Nores

Producer: Jay Ammann

Art & Design: Ashley Hannett

Research / Content Coordinator: Stacey DesRoches

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118 Roy Brown – US Fish & Wildlife Service Special Agent (Ret.)

Posted on December 14, 2023December 14, 2023 by nhfishcop10

Roy Brown was a Federal Conservation Law Enforcement officer for over 30 years, most of which he spent as a Special Agent Criminal Investigator with postings in Montana, Tennessee, Alabama, Utah and finally Wyoming. Working with a variety of state, local, and federal agencies to fight wildlife crime, he has been a certified firearms instructor and armorer, criminal investigator, and taught crime scene investigation techniques both at home and in Southern Africa.

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Here’s what we discuss:

Launched career on a Montana wildlife refuge
Preserving the white bison
“Cowboy stuff” and a shrewd horse
Waterfowl enforcement in Tennessee
The dirty dozen
Not all marijuana growers are clever…
Sticks should never slither
5000 applications for ten positions
Rooting out illegal snake dealers in Southern Utah
A dream job in Wyoming
Reintroducing the gray wolf to Yellowstone created conflict with ranchers
Mysterious wildlife deaths: things are often not what they seem
Some uncomfortably close grizzly encounters
Grizzlies hear well, but their eyesight is not great
Non-residents must have a guide to hunt in Wyoming
Teaching crime scene investigation in Africa
Some experiences stay with you

Credits

Hosts: Wayne Saunders and John Nores

Producer: Jay Ammann

Art & Design: Ashley Hannett

Research / Content Coordinator: Stacey DesRoches

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117 Let’s Go For a Ride – with Bill Livezey

Posted on November 9, 2023 by nhfishcop10

For twenty years, Bill Livezey led a double life rubbing shoulders with some of Maine’s worst wildlife offenders; the kinds of people who not only live by the poacher’s mantra “if it’s brown, it’s down,” but many who were dangerously unstable felons, alcoholics, and drug abusers – his success at putting bad guys out of business stemming largely from his early years as one of them. Since retiring in 2020 as the Maine Warden Service’s longest-tenured covert operative, he has co-written Let’s Go For a Ride, a captivating chronicle of both a life undercover, and a life transformed.

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Here’s what we discuss:

“Let’s go for a ride” – the universal bad guy code
Desire for wealth sent his father down a dark road
From successful businessman to meth dealer
Hired a hit man to kill his own brother
Ultimately died in a confrontation with police
Young Bill loved sports and the outdoors, but was using drugs regularly by 15
Spiraling out of control: “I was broken.”
Positive influences and an invitation from a teammate changed everything
Unity college and riding with the game warden
An extra-long warden service polygraph
Applying as many times as it takes
The young game warden who knew all the tricks
Experience as a juvenile lent itself to undercover work
Befriending, then arresting poachers was a psychological struggle
“Pull over! I’m an undercover game warden!”
Relationships have to feel real; some were easy, some not so much
Undercover work was difficult to step away from
Some cases were especially taxing
The fear of being discovered
The book brings the reader into each case

Credits

Hosts: Wayne Saunders and John Nores

Producer: Jay Ammann

Art & Design: Ashley Hannett

Research / Content Coordinator: Stacey DesRoches

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116 Deadly Harvest – With Kevin Behr

Posted on October 21, 2023October 21, 2023 by nhfishcop10

In Appalachian Ohio and beyond, ginseng hunting is a centuries-old tradition. Prized for its medicinal value and prestige, American ginseng was one of America’s first exports to the Far East. Today, highly regulated but harvested to near extinction, its value has only increased, setting the stage for a black market that often results in arrests, prison time, and tragedy.

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Here’s what we discuss:

Kevin’s ongoing recovery and recent activities
Investigation began in Ohio in 2012, when a family reported an overdue hiker
Bobby Joe Grubbs had been dropped off for a walk, but did not return
Grubbs was known to police
Sherrif’s office pinged cell phone
Phone was located on 87-year-old Joseph Kutter’s property
Property owner gave police permission to search, but nothing was found
Cell phone had dialed 911 but disconnected
Kutter’s property featured a meticulously tended ginseng patch
A second search was launched using cadaver dogs
Dogs alerted on a loader bucket
Kutter immediately confessed to shooting Grubbs
Claimed Grubbs was stealing ginseng
A confrontation ensued and Kutter fired his weapon
Kutter then moved the body twice in the following days
Autopsy revealed ginseng in Grubbs’ pockets – and a business card
Grubbs had called family to report finding “the mother lode” of ginseng
Kutter pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter
Case highlights the mindsets of both ginseng growers and poachers
Easy money from ginseng often funds drug habits
Ginseng hunting (and poaching) can be a way of life passed down through generations
Black market is unnervingly similar to the drug trade

Credits

Hosts: Wayne Saunders and John Nores

Producer: Jay Ammann

Art & Design: Ashley Hannett

Research / Content Coordinator: Stacey DesRoches

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115 North American Game Warden Museum with Tom Caifa and Sheila Paquette

Posted on October 7, 2023 by nhfishcop10

The North American Game Warden Museum could not be in a more perfect spot. Nestled amid the pristine forest, prairie, and floral gardens of the US/Canada International Peace Garden, it is the only space in the world dedicated to educating the public, celebrating natural resource protection, and honoring the fallen heroes who lost their lives in the line of duty. In this episode, we speak with board members Tom Caifa and Sheila Paquette about this incredible one-of-a-kind facility.

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Here’s what we discuss:

The term “game warden”
NAWEOA rebranding to International Game Warden Association
NAGW Museum was first conceived in the 80s
US states and Canadian provinces contributed
Museum was completed in 2005
The International Peace Garden
Passports are required
Past board members laid the foundations
Fundraising is key to the museum’s continued success
The NAWEOA 5K Torch Run
Torch Run began in 2000
The Run/Walk today is a family event
NAWEOA now has over 9000 members
Moose permit and other raffles
Annual golf tournament in Manitoba
Museum highlights
Cabins are available to rent year-round
RV parking and camping
Museum is open May – September
Donate to the NAGW Museum

Credits

Hosts: Wayne Saunders and John Nores

Producer: Jay Ammann

Art & Design: Ashley Hannett

Research / Content Coordinator: Stacey DesRoches

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114 Operation “Root of All Evil” with Kirk Kiefer – Ohio

Posted on September 23, 2023September 23, 2023 by nhfishcop10

Kirk Kiefer has been a wildlife investigator with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources for the past 15 years. In this episode, he walks us through Operation “Root of All Evil,” a lengthy and complex investigation into the illegal ginseng trade that spanned multiple states, included unmarked vehicles, extended surveillance, buys and sales by undercover officers, and even a fake business.

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Here’s what we discuss:

Wild ginseng root is highly valued for its perceived medicinal properties
Grows very slowly, taking up to five years to reach maturity
One pound can be worth up to $1000
Seeds take over a year to germinate
Information campaign helped educate stakeholders on the damage caused by poaching
Many poachers are involved in other illegal activities
Legal ginseng plants must have three leaf sets, or ‘prongs’
Case also had multiple prongs
Prong 1: Undercover officers sold ginseng to licensed dealers
Compared the amount sold to the amount reported
Officers then sold ginseng outside the buying season to confirm illegal intent
Prong 2: Coordinated with US Fish & Wildlife Service to create a fake business
Business would receive inquiries from those looking to buy and sell illegal product
Prong 3: Obtain offenders’ assistance in exchange for a reduced penalty
Task force worked in multiple states
One offender had been featured on a popular reality show
The television show actually helped educate the public about ginseng poaching
Many countries overseas have decimated indigenous flora and fauna, creating a black market
110 defendants received multiple charges
Nearly six years of jail time served, $77,000 in fines
Kirk’s background; jack of all trades
Trapping academy
State officers were made aware of the ginseng operation
“Giving a little bit, we received a lot.”
Not all states have Wildlife Investigators
State of Ohio has done some major operations
Ginseng awareness for stakeholders training began in 2015
Operation takedown day finally arrived in 2022

Credits

Hosts: Wayne Saunders and John Nores

Producer: Jay Ammann

Art & Design: Ashley Hannett

Research / Content Coordinator: Stacey DesRoches

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113 Ian Obenshain & Brad Bailey – Big Boy: The Stolen Hunt

Posted on September 7, 2023September 7, 2023 by nhfishcop10

In the summer of 2009, Ian Obenshain and Brad Bailey began observing a colossal white-tailed buck feeding in an Ohio field. The friends had permission to hunt the area and immediately started documenting the huge animal’s growth, with the ultimate goal of Brad filming Ian harvesting ‘Big Boy’ during the fall archery season. Anticipation, however, soon turned to disappointment when the trophy buck suddenly disappeared – and then the story turned even stranger.

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