By SEAN JANSSEN
The Union Democrat
A Sonora man described as "heavily involved in the illegal poaching of deer" received one of the harshest sentences on record for his crimes earlier this month.
Similar tough penalties for poachers remain questionable in the future, however, if Department of Fish and Game staffing continues to be an area cut when the state looks to trim budgets.
DFG claimed a significant victory in its anti-poaching efforts when Jesse Rodes pleaded guilty to a number of poaching-related charges stemming from an April 2006 arrest, and a Tuolumne County Superior Court judge slapped him with a $10,000 fine, 90 days in county jail, three years probation with no hunting allowed, a requirement to attend a hunter-education class, confiscation of his firearms and destruction of his ill-gotten "trophies."
"We got an anonymous tip ... and sent two wardens to the house," said game warden Patrick Foy.
Those two wardens — Josh Nicholas, who has since transferred to Marin County, and Steve Marino, still working locally — smelled rotting deer immediately and "it just fell apart on this guy from that point," Foy said.
Dozens of tails, heads and antlers found on the property made for a strong case for law enforcement.
"It's really not that common for somebody that's a young guy to have so many (poached deer)," Foy said.
"This was a significant case just based on the number of animals he poached," said Tuolumne County Deputy District Attorney Jim Newkirk. "We get poaching cases on a fairly regular basis. Normally, it's one deer, and somebody got caught when they were stopped for another reason."
Foy said the cooperation of the District Attorney's Office and the local courts "was greatly appreciated" as DFG continues its efforts to punish offenders like Rodes.
The warden said DFG needs all the help it can get right now as staff cuts have hampered the department in recent years.
"We lost a lot of positions in the last six or seven years," Foy said. "When people are retiring, we're not able to replace them."
Fish and Game Wardens Association representative Jerry Karnow said there were 207 game wardens in California in 1972, when the state's population was 19 million. Today, there are twice the people and 192 game wardens, he said.
"The calls are increasing, but there are fewer officers to respond," Karnow said. "More deer, more bear, more salmon and more sturgeon are being poached. Black market trade ... in animal parts is increasing."
Karnow, a warden for 19 years, works in Nevada County and said the problems he is seeing in Grass Valley are similar to those going on in Sonora.
"We need 1,000 game wardens to appropriately respond to these activities (statewide)," he said.
Karnow believes most Californians do not realize the importance of wardens — who investigate water pollution in the state and complex cases that take them out of the field to deal with poaching — and that DFG has a legacy as the oldest law enforcement agency in the state, dating back to 1871.
"We need a wake-up call in California to get more of the enforcement component out in the field," he said.
Contact Sean Janssen at sjanssen@uniondemocrat.com or 736-8097.
