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Are game wardens flying blind in fight against poachers? Critics question data.
Montana FWP’s incomplete poaching data and lack of tracking unsolved cases hinder enforcement despite a 62% drop in recorded violations, officials and experts say.
- Earlier this month, Lee Enterprises investigation found Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks does not keep complete or standardized poaching records and provided incomplete data to records requests.
- A recent legislative audit found FWP lacks a data-management strategy, and data show a 62% drop in violations between 2015 and 2026.
- FWP notes the budget rose to $16.7 million, with 126 full-time positions and 15 vacancies, while investigation hours fell by 2,590 from 2019 to 2021.
- Rep. Eric Albus said there are likely `thousands` of unsolved poaching cases and Ben Krakowka warned wealthy hunters paying $10,000 or $15,000 pressure guides into illegal acts.
- Agency communications indicate that FWP argues that felony poaching prosecutions are difficult to track because cases move to county or state prosecutors, and press releases help convey enforcement trends to lawmakers.
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17 Articles
17 Articles
Roanoke Times+16 Reposted by 16 other sources
Are game wardens flying blind in fight against poachers? Critics question data.
Lee Enterprises sought poaching data and information about the number and nature of unsolved poaching cases. FWP indicated that it does not keep such data or keeps incomplete data.
Coverage Details
Total News Sources17
Leaning Left1Leaning Right0Center15Last UpdatedBias Distribution94% Center
Bias Distribution
- 94% of the sources are Center
94% Center
C 94%
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