Calling all volunteers: guard Michigan's sturgeon against poachers this spring

Sturgeon for Tomorrow is once again seeking volunteers to join in its annual effort, in partnership with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, to help protect sturgeon from poaching.

Each spring, mature lake sturgeon, a fish species that is threatened in Michigan and rare throughout the United States, become vulnerable to poaching as they briefly leave Black Lake in Cheboygan County for spawning sites in the Black River.

Hundreds of volunteers are needed to stand guard along the Black River during the spawning season, from mid-April through early June, to report any suspicious activity and deter the unlawful take of this prized fish.

"For over a decade, the annual Sturgeon Guarding Program has proven that citizens who watch over the river have greatly reduced poaching while helping to ensure the protection and proliferation of the species," said Ann Feldhauser, a DNR retiree and the program's volunteer coordinator. "It's a unique and rewarding experience to witness the sight of these majestic fish, which can live up to 100 years and weigh over 200 pounds, swimming up the Black River and to take part in safeguarding one of Michigan's most valuable natural resources."

When spawning begins, sturgeon guards are assigned in shifts to sites along the river. The volunteers stand watch and, if necessary, use cellular phones provided by Sturgeon for Tomorrow, to contact DNR conservation officers who are actively patrolling the area in support of the guarding effort. Aerial surveillance is also deployed to secure the area and deter illegal activity.

Many opportunities are available for those who wish to help. Coordinators will be on-site to assist and answer questions. In addition to guarding the fish, volunteers can also play a key role by recording the number and activity of fish they see.

Individuals or groups interested in volunteering should contact Ann Feldhauser at 906-201-2484 or register online at www.sturgeonfortomorrow.org/guarding-program.php.

For those traveling from outside the local area, several hotels, restaurants and Onaway State Park (located on Black Lake) are very close to the critical guarding locations. Volunteers are also encouraged to set up their rustic camps along the banks of the Black River. There is no charge for camping on the state land adjacent to the Black River.

Lake sturgeon rehabilitation in the Cheboygan River watershed is a cooperative effort involving the Black Lake Chapter of Sturgeon for Tomorrow, the DNR, Michigan State University and Tower-Kleber Limited Partnership. In addition to the guarding program, this effort includes activities such as tagging sturgeon adults and raising young fish for stocking.

To learn more about sturgeon population and management in Michigan, visit www.michigan.gov/sturgeon.

Florida snowbird overdoes it in Sawyer County Overbagging: Nearly $6,000 in fines, rights revoked

State Conservation Warden Tom Heisler of Winter was already working an overbagging case when he spotted another busy angler on popular Lake Chetac in Sawyer County.

“I saw it. There were four fishing lines. The law allows three. And, he was catching a lot of fish,” Heisler said of the moment he launched a summer investigation in what became the case of the Florida snowbird and his Wisconsin son. “I zeroed in on it.”

Months later on October 11 in a Sawyer County courtroom, Ronald Dollevoet of Florida, and his adult son, Jeffrey Dollevoet of Green Bay, were ordered to pay a total of $5,787.75 in fines and to lose some of their outdoor privileges of hunting, fishing and trapping for a few years.

(Above: Some of the fish packets confiscated in the Lake Chetac overbagging case.)

The father, Ronald Dollevoet of Florida, loses his outdoor recreational privileges for three years in his home state of Florida, too, under the multi-state Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact. Both Wisconsin and Florida are among the 36 member states in the compact. This agreement calls for license privilege suspensions in the 36 member states. In the case of Ronald Dollevoet, it means his rights revocation is in effect in his home state of Florida, the location of the violation – Wisconsin, and the rest of the member states.

The penalty was less for his son, Jeffrey Dollevoet of Green Bay. Because of his cooperation with the investigation, he lost only his fishing privileges in Wisconsin and for only two years.

“It took a little bit of time to catch them,” Heisler said. “In the end, they faced substantial fines and lost their privileges for hunting, fishing and trapping.”

A familiar story

The case of the Florida snowbird over-fishing is an all-too-familiar story to the conservation wardens on the beat in the northwoods, as well as the local residents and anglers who follow the rules of ethical and legal fishing to preserve their regional natural resources and their tourism economy.

Conservation Warden Andy Lundin of Green Bay says the wardens know the majority of people who enjoy the lakes follow the rules to sustain the resource. However, he says, the Sawyer County case shows how that attitude can change.

“Visitors like this (Ronald Dollevoet) typically are in the north for a limited time. The ones who choose to break the law sometimes feel the need to take as many fish as possible,” Lundin said. “It is certainly one of the more common complaints but not just limited to people who are visiting Wisconsin.”

Heisler agreed. “It is a common problem and it is a workload issue because you must spend so much time on one case.”

The case crosses county lines

Long before Heisler spotted Ron Dollevoet fishing on that summer day, Heisler had been getting citizen complaints from citizens about another fisherman overbagging on certain lakes. But the visiting Florida man wasn’t the fisher mentioned in the other complaints. Ron Dollevoet had been visiting from Florida for several years and had a place on the lake in which he stayed for months each summer.

Yet, on the day Heisler was following up on the complaints, he spotted Dollevoet and gave himself another case.

“The investigation revealed this guy was catching and keeping fish all the time,” Lundin said of the Florida man. Through the wardens’ investigation of the area, the wardens were able to determine there was a family member from Wisconsin – Jeffrey from Green Bay – involved in the case.

This is when Heisler asked Lundin from Green Bay to check in with the adult son.

“I found that Jeffrey had 77 packages of panfish in his freezer, which totaled 687 panfish,” Lundin said. “We were only able to account for possession limits for three people.”

The general statewide daily bag limit for panfish is 25 and the possession limit is 50 fish per person. Take away 150 from 687 and you’ve got 537 too many fish.

“And this is from a lake that already has a more stringent panfish bag limit. Normally, your 25 panfish daily bag limit could consist of all bluegills,” Lundin said. “But on this lake, only 10 of the 25 fish can be bluegills.”

What happens to the fish now? The wardens say the fish are either donated to a food pantry or provided for a charitable event.

Both wardens say another lesson the case shows is the fact every fish caught does not have to be kept. “There is no law that says you must keep every fish you catch,” Heisler said.

Lundin agreed, adding he takes the lesson into his guest lectures and safety classes at schools.

“I tell the kids you can catch and keep 25 panfish today for your daily bag limit and you can catch and keep another 25 tomorrow,” Lundin said. “But now you have 50 which is your possession limit. At that point you should be done fishing for panfish until some of the fish get consumed."

“The goal is to keep it fair, ensure sustainability of the resource and limit things from going to waste,” Lundin said. “ Many of these types of cases are of people being greedy and in part why we have possession limits.”

Heisler says while this case didn’t stem from specific citizen complaints, a high volume does. “The citizens are our eyes and ears.”

To report a violation, call the DNR Hotline at 1-800-TIP-WDNR  (1-800-847-9367) or cell #367

-- JMH, Bureau of Law Enforcement

TIP hotline has very effective 2010

An anonymous call to Minnesota’s Turn-in-Poachers (TIP) hotline recently led a conservation officer with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to a man who had allegedly poached a trophy buck in Hugo.

The man is facing $10,000 in fines and restitution, and loss of his hunting privileges for three years if convicted.

Information from the public leads to the vast majority of arrests for hunting and fishing violations in Minnesota, said DNR conservation officer Alex Gutierrez of Forest Lake.

“With the number of vacant field stations, the extra set of eyes provided by the public has never been more important,” Gutierrez said. “TIP is an invaluable asset to conservation officers.”

Since 1981, TIP has provided a toll-free hotline, 800-652-9093, for poaching information and rewards for arrests and convictions of game and fish violators.

TIP’s aggressive anti-poaching message has been showcased (until recently, see related release on vandalism) in two “Wall of Shame” trailers containing the mounts of wildlife confiscated as a result of arrests for violations of Minnesota game laws.

Minnesota’s TIP hotline was very effective 2010. Investigations into 1,699 TIP calls resulted in 299 arrests and a total of $6,690 in rewards paid. That compares to 1,355 TIP calls, 237 arrests, and $4,350 in rewards paid in 2009.

TIP helps to stop wildlife poachers, but that is only part of what TIP has accomplished, noted Col. Jim Konrad, DNR Enforcement director.

“The TIP hotline actually discourages violations, and with most people carrying cell phones, keying in #TIP can quickly report a violator,” Konrad said. “All sportsmen/women, landowners, citizens and wildlife benefit from poachers being caught.”

When a person calls TIP, information such as how many violators, vehicle description with any license numbers and details of what happened are important to the conservation officer who will be dispatched to handle the call.