Conserve and Protect: Saskatchewan conservation officers patrol the prairie


Conserve and Protect: Saskatchewan conservation officers patrol the prairie

Conservation officer Kerry Wrishko works in the field south of Saskatoon during opening day for mule deer hunting

Photograph by: Greg Pender, The Starphoenix Photos , The Starphoenix

Two American hunters arrived in Cumberland House in October 2002 with a simple goal: Head to the marshes with a local outfitter to shoot as many ducks as possible - and break several hunting laws.

Saskatchewan conservation officers (CO) for years heard complaints about hunters shooting over their migratory bird limit in the Cumberland marshes, part of the Saskatchewan River delta and a popular nesting and migration stop for several duck species. Saskatchewan conservation officers believed one local outfitter knew about the illegal shooting and encouraged it.

But COs couldn't just drop by lodges with polite inquiries about poaching. So they invited the two American hunters - who were actually agents of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service posting as tourists for two trips in two years - to Cumberland House to bag a bunch of ducks.

During two weeklong trips in consecutive Octobers, the agents shot more ducks than legally allowed (doubling the eight-bird limit several times), watched other American hunters do the same, and observed the outfitter and guides encouraging the behaviour. In 2005, based on the illegal deaths of 129 ducks, the sting netted $29,600 in fines against seven American hunters and $30,000 in fines against the outfitter and three guides.

Kerry Wrishko, the head of Saskatchewan Environment's Saskatoon compliance office, recounted the duck hunting tale and other investigative techniques used by provincial COs to catch poachers while on patrol recently in the Pike Lake area south of the city.

It was the first day in 2013 when rifle hunters were allowed to shoot mule deer, and COs were patrolling grid roads and trails to ensure hunters obeyed provincial wildlife management laws. But with birds on his mind, Wrishko, 54, recalled a day near Wadena earlier this fall when he watched three hunters shoot beyond their waterfowl limits.

"We're counting as the birds fall from the sky," he said, riding shotgun in the truck while CO Chris Maier drove. "I said, 'Can we get all the birds together?' I must have frowned when they did, because one guy asked what was wrong."

The illegal ducks, which the trio hid under a blind, got one of them a $500 fine and a one-year hunting suspension.

Maier, a 33-year-old in his ninth year as a CO, likes using an animal decoy to nab hunters shooting out-ofseason game or on off-limits property. Caught in the act, the hunters rarely laugh at the gag.

"They usually just drop their heads," Maier said. "They know their goose is cooked."

Wrishko said Saskatchewan COs check about 10,000 hunters every year and charge about six per cent of them, while another 80 per cent comply with provincial legislation and the rest are let go with a warning. The numbers break in similar ways for the roughly 25,000 anglers checked by COs every year.

Most charges against hunters are for having a loaded gun in a vehicle.

"We are tolerant. We don't charge everybody," Wrishko says. "You want to check to see if they knew what they were doing was wrong."

The day's patrol started at 7:30 a.m. Two hours later, Wrishko and Maier had yet to find a hunting party to crash. They had plenty of time to reminisce and explain the work of the roughly 100 provincial boots-onthe-ground COs working out of offices from Stoney Rapids to Shaunavon.

"Opening days aren't what they used to be," Wrishko said, apologizing for the lack of action.

He would know. Now in his 36th year as a CO, Wrishko runs a compliance office tasked with enforcement in an area stretching from Melfort to Wadena to Kindersley. He can remember a time when COs weren't allowed to carry sidearms, which was a sore point for them until regulations changed in 1998.

Seven Saskatchewan COs have died on the job. One was killed in a shooting accident, and four others have died in separate aircraft crashes. In May, an SUV hit and killed CO Justin Knackstedt while he helped RCMP control traffic at a crash scene. Blaine Taypotat faces several charges in connection with Knackstedt's death.

"In Saskatchewan, there aren't really many violent confrontations," Wrishko said. "People do get angry and take offence."

COs aren't always in the field prowling for violations. They also do airport checks of American hunters. Wrishko once tracked down a poacher by matching blood samples found on some grass to samples taken from a moose delivered to a local butcher.

Close to 10 a.m., on their way back to Saskatoon from the day's patrol, Wrishko and Maier spotted a truck parked near a bluff off a grid road. They drove to the hunters and recognized a few of them, including Bentley Coben.

"In my 20 years of outfitting, I've been stopped three times now, and twice by him," Coben said, pointing to Wrishko as several other hunters emerged from the trees. The COs and the hunters chatted about the morning's hunt - a deer shot earlier was still being tracked - and gossiped about who did, or might, buy Big Buck Magazine.

"What we appreciate is having the (COs) out here to keep the bad guys good," Coben said.

On the outskirts of Saskatoon, Maier explained a CO's ultimate prey.

"The poacher is not the guy who made a mistake," he said. "A poacher is the guy who knowingly breaks the law to get the animal."





Photograph by: Greg Pender, The Starphoenix Photos, The Starphoenix


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