California Fish and Game wardens in the spotlight on 'Wild Justice,' premiering Sunday on National Geographic Channel
California Department of Fish and Game wardens certainly have an interesting work schedule. Dealing with illegal hunters, methamphetamine users, illegal pot growers and probation violators, it seems no two days are alike.
These 240 law enforcement men and women patrol wide swaths of the state's 159,000 square miles of land, 30,000 miles of rivers and streams and more than 1,100 miles of coastline, often alone and in rural areas where backup can be hours away. And often, many of the people they come in contact with are armed.
The real-life bravery of California game wardens is brought to light in the new National Geographic Channel series "Wild Justice," premiering Sunday at 9 p.m. with two hourlong episodes before moving to its regular night and time, Wednesdays at 10 beginning Dec. 1.
The 11-episode series follows the lives of California’s Fish and Game wardens, on call 24/7, as they defend against human threats to the environment, endangered wildlife and the cultivation of illegal drugs. On foot or horseback, by car or off-road vehicle, by plane or by boat, this small group of law enforcement officers covers a large territory in pursuit of poachers, polluters and illegal marijuana growers, while still making sure hunters and anglers follow the rules.
Though the show appears to focus on the "dirty" side of the job, it's not all trouble -- wardens also promote and coordinate hunter education programs and represent the DFG at schools and meetings of hunting and fishing clubs and other special interest groups.
"One thing about this job is that everything changes," DFG Warden Brian Boyd comments in one episode. "It's one reason why I like it and the reason some people don't like it, cause you can't set your clock to it."
"Wild Justice" episode descriptions through mid-December are after the jump (the rest of the descriptions are still pending):
Warden Brian Boyd and his trainee John Fraley take an unusual approach to catching hunters suspected of trafficking in bear gallbladders. Using real bear paws to mask his tracks and a scent drag to imitate bear presence in the area, Boyd hopes to lure the hunters into a trap that will enable him to catch them red-handed. Meanwhile, Wardens Jerry Karnow and John Nores use aerial recon to track down what they believe is a thrill-killing poacher. Later, San Francisco Warden William O'Brien organizes a squad to inspect for illegal species sold in Chinatown. The group finds a myriad of oddities, several suspicious species for sale and a suspect who eludes questioning.
Sunday, 10 p.m.: "Marijuana Mountains"
The Santa Clara Marijuana Eradication Team finds a massive grow site in the mountains. Wardens in the Oroville Wildlife Area investigating an amorous couple hear gunshots and find some partying kids who are breaking the law. Along the Feather River, wardens track down a carload of men they suspect of working in a marijuana grow site and in Tehama County's mountains, wardens find over 900 marijuana plants.
Wednesday, Dec. 1, 10 p.m.: "Outgunned"
A team of wardens takes to the skies to coordinate an air-to-ground assault on nocturnal poachers, while another team tracks down a serial poacher who kills fawns. A special operations unit spends Halloween capturing a deer poacher they've been surveilling for weeks, and wardens Boyd and Karnow meticulously track down a meth addict who uses a bow and arrow to endanger more than one species.
Wednesday, Dec. 8, 10 p.m.: "Deer Meat for Meth"
After getting a tipoff, John Nores and the Marijuana Eradication Team scout a grow site. A few hundred miles north, Mike Beals patrols the Oroville Wildlife Area, a county park known for rampant drug activities. He encounters drugs, trespassers and a stolen vehicle. Meanwhile, two squads race to capture dangerous hunters feeding their methamphetamine addictions by poaching deer.
Wednesday, Dec. 15, 10 p.m.: "Felony Friday"
With hundreds of square miles to patrol in one of the largest states in the country, wardens take to Monterey Bay for the opening of sport rockfish season and track down a poacher deep in Feather Falls. A squad investigates a sea lion that's been shot in the face, while other wardens patrol a river in the Oroville Wildlife Area and investigate suspected poaching in the Mendocino National Forest.
-- Kelly Burgess
twitter.com/latimesoutposts
Photos: California Department of Fish and Game wardens will be the focus of the upcoming series "Wild Justice," premiering Sunday on the National Geographic Channel. Credit: Original Productions
I dont know boys. I think you might want to consider a slander suit. That is not what happened. If someone is suspected of poaching they are arrested. Only Rob was cited for not tagging the bear. The tag was in his pocket, he would have been arrested if he didn't have the bear tag. This issue is a matter of public record.
You boys need to get an attorney. This show portrays you as poachers.
Guess now we can take everything Nat Geo AND the California Game Wardens say with a grain of salt.
Posted by: Larry | November 29, 2010 at 11:16 AM
loved the show, made me relive my days as a game warden. i just hope they cover the entire state, including southern ca...there are resources in so cal as well. and a comment on the other comment, if someone is saving a gall bladder from a bear, there is only one reason to save it, and its to sell it on the black market. funny how the bear hunters all became quiet when asked about the gall bladder. they are poachers.....
Posted by: fish cop | November 29, 2010 at 12:20 PM
Ha!! That's hecka funny! Know all those guys!
Hey 'fish cop'..........You ever see how they film tv shows? No, huh? Well they make the pauses real long like......and mysterious like.......And then they... DON, DON, DON....DON make that music to make it seem like...ooohhh troubles a'comin....
Seriously guys, if people are poaching they go to jail...
If people are hunting and a Warden followed by Lots and freakin lots of camera men filming...Guess what happens next???? No, come on guess...Okay I'll tell you.... then everybody signs a waiver, those that don't sign, aren't filmed and they all ham it up, cause the shows about poaching and weed growing and all that jazz.....
Hey Larry is right though...This is a matter of "public record". You could just find out.
On a really serious matter though...This should open peoples eyes....Warden, this is for you... Maybe instead of shows about poachers, the hunters turn in the gullbladder...then you guys dont have to have all the cameras and lights and....ACTION.
Everybody can relax...it was all legal and on the up and up...and most especially...made for tv.
Posted by: Arista | November 29, 2010 at 03:34 PM
I shot the bear! I had a valid tag and a valid hunting license. This was my first time shooting a bear. I am not a poacher. No one in our group is a poacher and nobody was arrested or charged with poaching or organ trafficking. I was hunting with friends, not paid guides.The only reason I had to destroy the gull bladder was for the tv cameras. Boyd was not alone. There was four wardens, four camera people we could see.
Poaching is a crime and if I was poaching I would have been arrested.
Posted by: rob | November 29, 2010 at 09:37 PM
What an embarrassment to the Department of Fish and Game.
The things that officer said to his trainee. (on national tv)
He hunt's people, thats how he gets his fix. That he was going to roll in the gut pile and the other guy was going to have to pull him out.
Why would any law enforcement agency let this guy have a trainee. Is the trainee being hazed?
Posted by: jean | November 30, 2010 at 01:52 PM
remember the law states the tag shall be put on the animal when it is killed not later. and why save the gull bladder? unless you have other ideas.
Posted by: sarah smith | December 03, 2010 at 10:49 AM
I long for the day that people who are entrusted with enforcing the law will follow it. I know it sounds like nothing, but it,s not up to any of us to choose which laws we want to follow.
Hey, Lt. John Nores, how about a leash no longer than six feet on that dog while you're enjoying the state park. I won't be placing any bets on his receiving a large citation for this clear violation of park rules. It must be nice to be so smug about anyone who breaks the law and yet so cavalier in breaking it yourself.
Remember people do as the man says, not as he does..
Posted by: onemorecrushedamericansoul | January 25, 2011 at 05:27 PM