Alpine game warden looking for poachers

Warden Erick Elliott is the Alpine County officer for the California Department of Fish and Game.

Elliott has been a game warden for 13 years. Before being assigned to Alpine County two years ago, he worked on the North Coast of California doing surveys for salmon and steelhead, then as a warden in Julian, Calif.

When I asked if he liked working here, he said that he always wanted to live and work in this area. He plans on making Alpine County home for himself and his wife and their four sons. He said, "working in Alpine County is heaven sent."

"I always wanted to be a game warden," he stated. "My father was a game warden and the whole family participated because of the nature of the job. We got calls at home about poaching and during the years before policy prohibited such things, I got to go on ride-alongs and even help with job duties," he added.

His favorite childhood memory is when his father took him along on a "spotlighting job," which means that hunters were illegally shining lights on deer at night so the deer would be immobilized and very easy targets.

"Since my dad was working alone, it was a help to him for me to stay in the vehicle and flash a light around once in awhile. That way the hunters would think that there was another warden in the area. It was a security measure as well," Elliott explained.

Both Elliott and his younger brother are now wardens in California. The criteria for becoming a warden for California Fish and Game include 60 units of college credit, with 18 units in criminal justice or biological science.

There is regular continuing education in case law, defensive tactics and firearms, wildlife restraint and handling, including using tranquilizer darts, nooses, and other methodology. 

Elliott has also completed canine training through a state coordinator. His dog Rusty is a 3-year-old Labrador retriever that will alert Elliott to the smell of trout, deer, firearm odor and other scents.

When I asked about a typical work week, Elliott explained that his "duty is primarily to be a peace officer for the department and to enforce California fishing and hunting regulations."

He works solo about 90 percent of the time. A typical case would be to approach a fisherman and ask to see a fishing license.

"I like to assess the totality of the situation: if an individual does not have a license, I inquire about whether she/he has ever had one before, where the fishing gear came from, and other questions to determine if the fisherman is intentionally breaking the law. After all, fishing licenses have been around for 100 years," he said.

If Elliott issues a citation, the person either pays the fine at the county courthouse or appears for arraignment before a superior court judge.

"I have that although it is up to the judge to impose a fine, the judges and the district attorney have taken my input about cases into consideration. I like to appear at the arraignment because I think it keeps the proceedings more fair and honest," Elliott continued.

His most exciting case was piecing together evidence against a group of "guys consistently poaching deer out-of-season in a state park near Julian. I worked with the department biologists who found the deer carcasses and then patrolled the park for days and days.  When I finally spotted the vehicle, the men told me that they were not hunting, they were just using the rest room. There was no hunting equipment in the car, no deer, not backpack full of venison - almost nothing to indicate that they were the poachers. Then I spotted a drop of blood on the pant leg of one of the men. He told me that he had an injury. I asked him to see the injury and found nothing. Then I asked him to cut off the portion of pant with the bloodstain and give it to me. Later as I searched the area I found three backpacks chuck full of venison and a huge buck head. We later found stashed rifles nearby. I sent the venison and the pant leg to the wildlife investigations lab that found a DNA match between the blood spot on the pant leg and the venison blood. Months later the poachers were arrested, fined and sentenced."

The satisfaction in a case like that comes from protecting our natural resources. 

"Wildlife belongs to the people, not to the state. People of all ages enjoy watching deer, bear, and quail," Elliott said. 

He believes that it is all of our responsibility to report poachers.  Most arrests do come from people who get tired of a neighbor or acquaintance taking game illegally.

In his career, Elliott has found zero cases of people hunting from the need to feed a family:  Elliott said that by the time someone buys gasoline, weapons, and other equipment she/he could have purchased meat or tuna fish at a store.

To report poaching, call 1.888.DFG.CALTIP (1.888.334.2258).