Good column. And Mr. Dewberry is right: There should be a greater focus on the coastal areas, esp. in urban centers such as the Bay Area and L.A.–that’s where the bulk of the poaching trade takes place, particularly of abalone, crab, sturgeon and rock fish, reportedly.

As you noted, there are fewer than 200 game wardens in the field, a catastrophe for our beleaguered wildlife. California, to our ever-lasting shame, has the lowest ratio of wardens-to-population of any state in the country, and our wildlife suffers accordingly. Florida, by comparison, has some 700 wardens, Texas 500.

A MAJOR cause of the problem is the fact that our heroic game wardens are paid only about 3/5′s the salary of a CHP officer, for far more dangerous work. No wonder there’s a dearth of wardens. Not fair!

And poaching problems are only likely to increase if the park closures being proposed by the Governor are implicated.

ALL STATE LEGISLATORS AND THE GOVERNOR MAY BE WRITTEN C/O THE STATE CAPITOL, SACRAMENTO, CA 95814.

Thanks for your ongoing efforts, Gary. They are much appreciated.

x
Eric Mills, coordinator
ACTION FOR ANIMALS
Oakland

P.S. – I’m reading a cheerless little opus now entitled ENDGAME: THE PROBLEM OF CIVILIZATION, by Derrick Jensen (Seven Stories Press, NYC, 2006). The book deals with many of these problems. Recommended.

Nice points…what will happen w/ the massive budget cuts? The game wardens are distributed where the poaching population is, so there are more up in the hoofed poaching areas and far fewer at sea level where the poaching of abalone, for instance, is just as real an issue, if not more so. Quite a bit of pressure on that population – out a site, out of mind to the public perhaps.