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CLEAR Temp: 55 °F Wind: CLM at 0 mph Thursday, November 21, 2002 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend September 13, 2002 Cuts put patrol troopers in wildlife division By MARK FREEMAN Mail Tribune More than a quarter of Oregon’s state fish and wildlife field officers could be replaced by troopers with no wildlife experience under the Oregon State Police’s current budget-cutting plans. The OSP’s Fish and Wildlife Division will lose 27 of its current officers who will be replaced by 22 state troopers who have more seniority but are working in the agency’s criminal and patrol divisions. The wildlife division, which now has 103 field officers, will lose just five positions in the budget cutting plan. But it will be very difficult to get the new troopers up to speed in this specialized corner of Oregon law enforcement, said Cynthia Kok, division commander. The new fish and wildlife troopers will get the positions based on seniority. That means the division potentially could field troopers who cannot tell the difference between a mule deer and a black-tailed deer. "We’ll get somebody, but it won’t be somebody we paid to recruit and train," Kok said. "It means a whole new training program training people who have little idea of what they’re doing and of little interest in doing fish and wildlife (enforcement)." That worries Duane Dungannon, the spokesman for the Medford-based Oregon Hunters Association, who believes Oregonians as well as the fish and wildlife resources will suffer if the cuts are made. "Everybody’s going to lose in this," Dungannon said. "It’s like taking game (officers) and assigning them to the homicide division. It’s not their gig." Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Director Lindsay Ball, who had Kok’s job before he joined the ODFW, said he believes the move has the potential for making fish and wildlife enforcement less effective. But Ball declined Thursday to criticize the plan. "I don’t want to identify poor performance before I see it," Ball said. "But it’s an issue the state police have to watch and monitor closely." The cuts include two of the five fish and wildlife troopers assigned to the Central Point office. They are troopers Jim Collom and Sean Belding, who were informed this week of the pending layoffs effective Oct. 1. Four of the six fish and wildlife troopers assigned to the Coos Bay office have been notified they will lose their jobs. OSP Sgt. Jack Slezak said the shuffling of the troopers would be based on the contract the agency has with the Oregon State Police Officers Association. The contract does not make provisions for the lost fish and wildlife troopers to be recalled to their jobs if funding is returned, he said. Kok said most of the troopers lost in the cuts are those specifically recruited to her division because of their skills, background and knowledge in biology — not the same types of skills that make for a good patrol trooper. "I don’t want to call it insurmountable," Kok said. "We have quality state troopers," she said. "But, certainly, I know that everybody out there doesn’t want to be a fish and wildlife officer." Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright 1997-2002 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy webmaster feedback A D V E R T I S E R S