21st-century game wardens have many tools

WICHITA, Kan. -- The poacher thought he had pulled off the perfect crime. He had shot a big buck, his biggest, before the 2009 season opened.

On opening day, he parked at his hunting spot so others would think he was legally afield.

Months passed, and each day brought less concern.

Then, in late March, game warden Hal Kaina came knocking with proof the deer was poached before the season.

Busted.

The poacher had no choice but to confess, lose the mount and take his lumps.

Kaina made the case with the help of a valuable game warden's tool: Facebook.

"I was cruising (online) and I found a picture of the guy with the deer," Kaina said. "The date on the photo said opening day, but the deer's nose was flat and cape looked stiff like they'd been frozen. He had to have shot it before the season."

It was one of several cases Kaina made browsing social-networking sites after the season closed.

Many game wardens see technology as a constant ally.

"I think I can make more cases sitting at a computer than out traveling around the country," said Phil Kirkland, a Kansas game warden for more than 25 years. "This technology stuff is really changing how we work - and for the better."

Simply cruising online, Kaina also caught a poacher for bow-killing a whitetail buck when his permit allowed him to hunt only with a rifle.

An online photo was his tip.

A guy from New Jersey went online with a gnarly buck he killed in western Kansas. Kaina found he lacked the needed hunting license.

These days, there are thousands of photos placed online every year of hunters with their deer.

Sometimes a date on the photo is a dead giveaway of an out-of-season kill. It takes a warden only a few seconds to see if the hunter had the proper licenses.

Kaina can quickly pull up the hunter's electronic record with the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks.

As well as details such as addresses and phone numbers, he can learn exactly what permits and licenses the person has and when they were purchased.

"Fifteen years ago, if we wanted to see if someone had the proper licenses, we had to go and dig through 15,000 paper permits by hand-looking for their name," Kirkland said. "That took a lot of time, and sometimes it took two or three of us to do it."

And they don't need to drive to their office to check, either.

Kirkland's pickup carries a laptop computer that usually allows him to instantly access the agency's database from the field.

If he's away from his rig, he can get the information via cell phone.

Many options now

Quick access to records has kept some hunters and anglers from getting cited for violations, too.

"If I'm checking somebody and they don't have a license on them but say they've bought one, I can take their information and know right away," Kirkland said. "I'll say something like, 'Yep, you do so you're OK, but you'd better find it or get a duplicate.' "

More high-tech tools are being added to a game warden's arsenal.

DNA testing can link a set of antlers in Texas or Alaska with a headless deer found in a remote Kansas field.

There are now ways to tell how long an animal has been dead and if it was killed by bullet or arrow.

Wardens also can tell if a dried stain on a pickup bed is oil or blood of a poached deer.

Universal tool

No piece of technology has made life harder on poachers than the cell phone.

Much of his career, Kirkland patrolled with only radio contact. People witnessing violations had to find a phone and call the sheriff's department to report the crime.

The information was forwarded to the game warden, who often had to go find a phone to call witnesses for information.

Precious hours were often lost, and violators escaped with ease.

Not now.

"These days, it seems like everyone's carrying a cell phone, and they can talk with me directly, right then, often while they're watching someone break the law," Kirkland said. "And now it seems like most cell phones can take pictures or videos, too.

"We have people out there gathering evidence for us right then, when it needs to be done, and sending it to us within seconds.

"This technology stuff lets us act smoking fast. I can't tell you how big a difference it's making for us in the field."

Self incrimination

And in these days of dozens of outdoors television shows, wardens can make cases from their own living rooms, too.

Kirkland rattled off a long list of violations he has seen on hunting shows. Often the violation is rifle hunting for deer without the proper amount of orange.

Several years ago, he was watching a show host on a deer hunt in the Red Hills without any orange.

A quick check online showed the guy also didn't have the proper deer permit for hunting deer in Kansas.

"When I see them advertise a show about hunting in Kansas, I try to watch it," Kirkland said. "It's not for enjoyment at that time. It's like I'm working."