Whether in the backcountry, on the water or in city limits, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department’s 86 law enforcement officers worked hard in 2018 to protect Wyoming’s wildlife resources. Their annual law enforcement work year is detailed in the 2018 Law Enforcement Report, which highlights key statistics, operations and accomplishments of game wardens, wildlife investigators and other employees who contribute to law enforcement activities. In all, there were 4,228 law enforcement actions statewide in 2018.
“Game and Fish and our law enforcement partners invest significant manpower and resources protecting our exceptional wildlife resources and ensuring public safety,” said Scott Edberg, acting chief of the wildlife division. “We are proud of our dedicated employees and support from the public who contribute to our wildlife law enforcement efforts.”
Inside the report are regional summaries of unique and notable solved poaching cases of the year. Many of these cases were solved due to public tips via the Stop Poaching hotline.
“Suffice it to say, many of the successful cases documented in this report would not be possible without help from the public,” said Edberg.
The report notes in 2018, 349 Stop Poaching tips were received from members of the public through the Stop Poaching hotline, text tip line and the Game and Fish website. Game wardens followed up on these tips, and in numerous instances, they were able to confirm wildlife violations and identify possible suspects. Investigations due to the Stop Poaching program led to 47 citations and 15 warnings being issued to violators. Defendants charged as a result of tips made to the Stop Poaching Program paid $10,730 in fines and restitution.
The Game and Fish Wildlife Forensics lab, which provides forensic testing of evidence for law enforcement, performed 10,800 tests for 64 Wyoming investigations in 2018. In most of these cases, defendants were charged and pled guilty or were found guilty in a court of law.
“The forensics lab is a critical component to the department’s law enforcement program,” said Edberg. “Results from forensic tests were used to obtain a minimum of $63,680 in fines and restitution.”
To stay informed on Game and Fish law enforcement year round, visit the Game and Fish law enforcement website.
