Performing emergency CPR, responding to possible DUI’s, it’s ‘never a dull day’ for Fish and Game officers in Idaho’s Salmon Region

Spring brings a flurry of activity for Idaho Department of Fish and Game conservation officers.   

While enforcement of Idaho’s wildlife laws is their main focus, Idaho’s conservation officers’ duties are broad, and their days are never boring.   

This spring, local officers assisted Custer and Lemhi County Sherriff deputies with two impaired drivers, performed CPR on an unresponsive steelhead angler until Life Flight arrived, taught youth education courses, retrieved big game radio-collars that were shed over the winter, and helped spawn steelhead at Pahsimeroi and Sawtooth hatcheries.  The list goes on.   

As far as enforcing wildlife laws go, a few officers traveled to Montana to serve warrants regarding several wolf hunting violations and a mountain lion and trophy mule deer taken unlawfully in Unit 21. Officers throughout the region also spent considerable time educating non-resident antler hunters of Idaho’s new law requiring they possess a valid Idaho big game hunting license to gather antlers.     

With the substantial steelhead return and an abundance of eager anglers, officers spent much of their spring contacting anglers to check for law compliance.  While most anglers contacted by officers were following the rules, multiple violations were detected.  Overall, local officers detected 36 total violations in a one-month period.  Here are a few highlights. 

Greedy Group

During steelhead angler patrols below North Fork, officers worked both in uniform and plain clothes.  A uniformed officer checked two anglers in the morning and discovered that they had harvested two fish and one fish respectively.  The uniform officer left the pair and informed other officers who were working plain clothes in the area.  Within about an hour, the plain-clothed officers observed the angler with two already carded-fish, catch and keep two additional steelhead and covered one with rocks by the river.   A short time later, the uniformed officer recontacted the two anglers and discovered that each angler now had two fish carded.  Through further questioning, one angler retrieved the hidden steelhead and confessed to keeping two more, transferring steelhead to his friend, and continuing to fish after reaching his limit.  Both anglers were issued citations. 

Unlucky 100

Wanting to take advantage of the beautiful March weather of high winds and sideways snow, two officers decided to check anglers from a boat in plain clothes in the Ellis area.  The patrol resulted in over 100 license checks.  On what turned out to be license check number 100, officers observed an angler catch and keep a steelhead, hang it in a tree, then return to fishing without attempting to validate his permit.  When contacting the angler, the officers discovered that the man had not purchased a steelhead permit and was using barbed hooks.  The angler was issued citations.

Abundant Anglers 

While conducting a check station on the River Road below North Fork, two officers contacted 111 steelhead anglers and checked 70 fish.  During one contact, an angler stated that he was in possession of four steelhead and was transporting one fish for a friend.  Upon inspection, officers discovered 10 fileted fish, which is more than the possession limit.  Upon closer inspection, five of the fish had no evidence of a healed scar.  The angler did not have a proxy for any of the fish, but was adamant that all fish caught were not his.  Officers contacted the two other anglers in his group and confirmed the fish were legally harvested.  All anglers were issued citations and educated on the steelhead regulations.