HUNTING CHECK STATIONS ARE AN INTEGRAL PART OF WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT

The Colorado Division of Wildlife will operate check stations throughout the state this fall as part of continued efforts to manage and monitor the well-being of wildlife, as well as track any violations of state hunting regulations.The DOW sets up check stations around Colorado each year to gather DNA samples from game animals and to check for any evidence of poaching.“It’s a very efficient system. We set up in areas that have a high concentration of hunters and make lots of contacts in a day,” said Pat Tucker, the DOW's area wildlife manager in Glenwood Springs.The check stations are designed to move motorists quickly through the process. Commercial vehicles are generally waived through, and private vehicles are pulled over for one quick question.“We ask people in every car, ‘Have you been hunting or fishing?’ If not, they’re on their way. If so, we ask them to pull over for a check,” Tucker said.DOW officials ask hunters the same questions they ask in the field, and review hunting licenses. Because hunting licenses are specific to the kind of animal that can be taken, including whether the animal is male or female, any animals in people's possession are examined for regulation compliance.“We check for all the elements of how we manage wildlife,” said John Bredehoft, chief law enforcement officer for the DOW. “We look to see if people are killing wildlife on other people’s licenses, if they have the right species, evidence of sex, if it’s tagged correctly, and if there are loaded firearms in the vehicles.”Bredehoft said about 5 percent of hunters who go through the check stations are in violation. The most common violations include party hunting, using a hunting license assigned to a different person, or taking extra animals, he said.“We check to make sure the body parts add up. If someone says they’ve got three animals and we find 13 quarters, we know something’s up,” Bredehoft said.Check stations in each region are set up according to the priorities of the area and are determined by the regional managers. On average, the DOW runs 15 to 20 stations for big game and 10 to 15 fishing check stations per year.“We’ll run them anytime, anywhere, and we don’t advertise them,” said Bredehoft, adding that surprise is crucial to the effectiveness of the check stations.The stations vary in size and scope, starting from a two-person operation on an access road to a check station on a state highway involving 15 to 20 people, including law-enforcement officers, biologists and wildlife managers. On a larger scale, Colorado officials cooperate with neighboring states on occasion, organizing interstate operations that can last up to three days.“Interstate operations are very labor and equipment intensive, so we can’t do them as often. But they’re very effective,” Bredehoft said.In most cases, check stations are a welcome sight to hunters, said Tucker, who runs them in Glenwood Springs.“The hunting public appreciates being checked. It takes just a few minutes of their time and it’s a chance for them to talk to the game warden and trade hunting information," he said.With each hunter's approval, DOW biologists also take advantage of the check stations by gathering DNA samples from game animals. The samples are then added to a DOW database to form a "DNA map” of animals throughout the state. A DNA sample, which is unique for each animal, can supply biologists with information about species, gender, herd populations, and in some cases, the animal's region of origin.“We can compare the DNA from the kill to our DNA database and see if the animal came from the area the hunter claims it’s from or if the DNA tells a different story,” Bredehoft said.Assistant Chief Law Enforcement Officer Eric Harper reported that between summer 2003 and spring 2004, the DNA database helped wildlife officials investigate 25 cases. Of these cases, 13 resulted in convictions or are pending court cases.“Penalties in some of these cases may be as severe as felony records, fines in the tens of thousands of dollars, jail time, and/or lifetime suspension from hunting and fishing licenses,” Harper said.For more information on hunting restrictions and poaching penalties, see the DOW 2004 Big Game brochure or go to http://wildlife.state.co.us/regulations.