Evidence seized from poaching cases

This is the second of six articles written by wildlife officer Scott Murdoch that will be distributed throughout the summer. Each will come out roughly a week in advance from when wildlife officers from Park, Jefferson, Clear Creek and Gilpin counties host Coffee with a Game Warden get-togethers, providing the public with an opportunity to meet their local wildlife officer and ask them questions. Times/locations for the second Coffee with a Game Warden sessions at local establishments on June 19 are listed at the bottom of the article.

CONIFER, Colo. – Welcome back. My name is Scott Murdoch and I am a District Wildlife Manager with Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW). I work in the Conifer area along U.S. Highway 285 in part of Park and Jefferson counties. 

This article is the second of a series of articles that will highlight how wildlife is managed in Colorado. CPW is the state agency responsible for managing the wildlife that calls Colorado their home. Our agency employs aquatic and terrestrial biologists, researchers, property and hatchery technicians, administrators, wildlife officers, investigators, engineers and many others to accomplish the broad mission of conserving and protecting the state’s 960 game and non-game species.

More than 70 percent of CPW’s wildlife programs to conserve and protect those species are paid for by the license fees from hunters and anglers. CPW does not receive general tax dollars to fund its wildlife conservation programs. Wildlife officers and investigators are two of the positions that help manage wildlife through the enforcement of state and federal laws.

Popular television shows like Lone Star Law, North Woods Law, Rugged Justice, Wardens and Alaska State Troopers highlight the public’s fascination with nature and wildlife law. This fascination is also highlighted in book sales like the award-winning series of books by author C.J Box starring fictional Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett, and the book titled Wildlife Wars (and many others) by the late local Evergreen legend, game warden, and author, Terry Grosz. These have encouraged many young men and women to pursue a career in wildlife law enforcement. While these shows and books highlight the most exciting aspects of the job as a wildlife officer or ‘game warden’ as you may hear, it isn’t always fast action. Many get into this profession for the desire to protect wildlife and habitats, spend time outdoors and catch the ‘bad guy,’ but one needs to be aware of the ‘other’ highly important, but maybe not as alluring parts of the job as a game warden.

Accurate documentation of investigations and patrols is the most important part of my job as a wildlife officer. They say if it isn’t written or documented it didn’t happen. That is the absolute truth. I write thousands of pages of reports each year and much of it never gets read, but when it does sometimes it is the smallest detail that makes the biggest impact in the successful prosecution of a case. The amount of time that it takes from receiving intelligence and documenting evidence to the final stage of obtaining a conviction through the courts often takes from one to three years, depending on how complex the investigation is. Another six months often go by in the process of obtaining a suspension hearing decision if the violations warrant the suspension of hunting and fishing privileges. 

When an officer obtains information about a suspect that may be involved in poaching, the illegal taking of wildlife, that officer will generally look at the situation and identify what information they need to verify the allegation. Sometimes this involves careful observations, looking over evidence left at the scene of a crime, search warrants, court orders, interviews, forensics including DNA and ballistics, and many other creative approaches. It is like a big puzzle, the pieces are all out there waiting to be put together. Sometimes you find nearly all of the pieces and other times you only find a few. The more clear the picture is when you are finished assembling the puzzle, the more likely the case can be presented to the district attorney for the prosecution, and more likely you will bring that suspect to justice. 

These larger cases can be so tedious, but tremendously rewarding once all the pieces fall into place. Sometimes it is frustrating when you know the puzzle pieces are out there, but the picture you have created isn’t clear enough for prosecution. Cases like these often become future intelligence, the formation of patterns that officers use to prove illegal poaching activities that occur over many months or even years. The reports that the public provides through anonymous tip lines like Colorado Operation Game Thief are often the biggest and most helpful catalyst in a large poaching case.

You may ask, is there really poaching going on around here? The answer is a firm YES. 

It never ceases to amaze me some of the behaviors that go on, mostly unnoticed in and around the semi-rural mountain communities like Conifer, Bailey and Evergreen.

Poaching comes in many forms. It may be taking too many fish from the local lake or stream, falsifying residency on license applications, or the outright take of trophy game without a license. The challenge that wildlife officers have is that most of the time poaching behaviors are very subtle, take place in remote and hard to get to places and occur at odd times in the day. While all of these behaviors occur in any community surrounded by wildlife, wildlife officers around the state are so thankful for the vast majority of the hunters, trappers and anglers that follow all wildlife laws, even when nobody is watching.

So the next time you see wildlife, know that the local wildlife officer is looking after the wildlife that you cherish. If you would like to meet your local officer, please come with questions and share coffee with us at the following dates and times.

Coffee with your local game warden on June 19 at:

Genesee: 9-10 a.m. at Buffalo Moon Coffee Shop Cafe: 25948 Genesee Trail Rd M, Golden

Evergreen: 9-10 a.m. at The Bagelry: 1242 Bergen Pkwy, Ste 3, Evergreen

Conifer: 9-10 a.m. at Dutch Bros Coffee: 10855 U.S. Highway 285, Conifer

Bailey: 9-10 a.m. at Mudslingers: 144 Bulldogger Rd., Bailey

Fairplay: 9-10 a.m. at The Java Moose: 730 Main St., Fairplay

Poaching is a crime against you, your neighbor, and everyone else in the state of Colorado. Call 1-877-COLO-OGT toll-free or Verizon cell phone users can simply dial #OGT to report it.  If you’d prefer, you can e-mail us at .

CPW is an enterprise agency, relying primarily on license sales, state parks fees and registration fees to support its operations, including: 42 state parks and more than 350 wildlife areas covering approximately 900,000 acres, management of fishing and hunting, wildlife watching, camping, motorized and non-motorized trails, boating and outdoor education. CPW’s work contributes approximately $6 billion in total economic impact annually throughout Colorado.

Copyright © 2021 Colorado Parks and Wildlife, All rights reserved.

Photo courtesy of Colorado Parks and Wildlife

TRINIDAD, Colo. – Colorado Parks and Wildlife wants the public to share its thoughts about the development of Fishers Peak State Park in an online survey, and the agency has scheduled a public meeting June 24 to update everyone on the master plan that will guide development of Colorado’s 42nd state park.

The 10-15 minute online survey is a chance for people to offer their opinions on recreation opportunities they would like to see at Fishers Peak as well as their priorities regarding conservation of the flora and fauna there.

The survey is gathering public input on education initiatives, park operations and community involvement at Fishers Peak. Take the survey at this link. The survey will remain active and collect responses until July 5, when it will close.

The virtual public meeting will feature members of the Fishers Peak State Park Project Team giving updates about the master plan process and details about ongoing on-site data collection, stakeholder feedback and the ways that feedback is being used. Future engagement plans also will be discussed. 

This will be an interactive session offering attendees an opportunity to provide input.

“The comments we receive from the public are important to us and will play an important role in the development of Fishers Peak State Park,” said Crystal Dreiling, CPW park manager. “We value the opinions of the public. We need to hear from you (the public) if we hope to succeed in developing the kind of park that Colorado state parks visitors need.”

Historically, CPW has taken years to research a property and develop a master plan inclusive of public opinion, incorporates the needs of wildlife and that protects habitat before starting construction of recreation infrastructure like roads, trails, toilets, parking lots, visitor centers, sewer and water service and interpretive signs.

To learn more about the master planning process and the park, visit fisherspearkstatepark.com

Details on attending Virtual Meeting:

VIRTUAL PUBLIC MEETING:

When: 6 p.m., Thursday, June 24

Link to Join:  Access the meeting via this link.

Phone: 312-626-6799

Meeting ID: 864 5676 4036

Passcode: 445149

CPW is an enterprise agency, relying primarily on license sales, state parks fees and registration fees to support its operations, including: 42 state parks and more than 350 wildlife areas covering approximately 900,000 acres, management of fishing and hunting, wildlife watching, camping, motorized and non-motorized trails, boating and outdoor education. CPW’s work contributes approximately $6 billion in total economic impact annually throughout Colorado.

Copyright © 2021 Colorado Parks and Wildlife, All rights reserved.

DOUGLAS COUNTY – On Monday, June 7^th at approximately 12:53 AM troopers with the Colorado State Patrol were dispatched to a vehicle-versus-animal crash located on southbound Interstate 25 near mile marker 186.  Upon arrival troopers discovered a second crash had taken place involving multiple vehicles, resulting in one party killed and nine others transported with varying degrees of injuries. 

The initial crash involved a 2006 Chevy Trailblazer driven by a 21-year-old male from Minnesota, with an 18-year-old female passenger, also from Minnesota.   After striking an elk, the Trailblazer pulled onto the left shoulder of the Interstate and came to a stop.  A Good Samaritan passing by, a 21-year-old male from Colorado Springs, stopped to offer assistance.  All three parties were outside of their respective vehicles; the female party near the rear of the Trailblazer, the driver of the Trailblazer between the vehicle and concrete barrier, and the Samaritan standing near the front of the Trailblazer.  A 2005 Toyota 4Runner was southbound in the #1 lane of I25 when it hit the elk laying in the lane.  The Toyota was driven by a 70-year-old male from Thornton, CO and had a 69-year-old female passenger from Thornton.  After hitting the elk, the Toyota traveled onto the left shoulder and collided with the female passenger/pedestrian and the rear of the Trailblazer.  The Trailblazer struck the two male parties/pedestrians and all three pedestrians were thrown over the concrete barrier into the northbound lanes.  After hitting the Trailblazer, the Toyota traveled back into the #1 lane of traffic and a 2008 Dodge Nitro collided with the rear of the 4Runner.  The Nitro then rotated into the #2 lane, hitting a 2018 Kia Forte.  The vehicle of the Good Samaritan was not hit at any point. 

The 70-year-old male driver of the Toyota sustained serious injuries; the 69-year-old female passenger sustained life-threatening injuries.  The occupants of the other vehicles:

Dodge Nitro SUV, all from Santa Fe, NM:

-30-year-old male driver, sustained serious injuries.

-30-year-old female passenger, unknown injuries.

-10-year-old female passenger, sustained serious injuries.

-10-year-old male passenger, not injured but transported.

Kia Forte:

-31-year-old female driver from Colorado Springs, sustained minor injuries.

All parties other than the pedestrians were wearing seatbelts at the time of the crash.  The 18-year-old female passenger from the Trailblazer was declared deceased on scene.  All other parties were transported to local hospitals via ground transportation.  Lanes were closed for the on scene investigation and clean up; the highway was full reopened at approximately 7:10 AM.  Drugs, alcohol, and speed are not considered as factors.  The crash remains open and under investigation.  Names are not being released as next of kin notifications are being made.

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