Conservation Officer AND Outfitter

[bowieknife50]

Hi everyone,

I'd love to have the group's opinion on this. I just found out that very close to where I live in Michigan there is an active duty conservation officer (game warden) that is also running a for profit outfitter business. On his website he is open about the fact that he's an officer and talks about how that makes him a better guide because he knows all the nooks and crannies of the area.

What do you guys think?

Tim

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[tyeager2964]

It is a direct conflict of interest.

The world is full of them. At least he acknowledges this and as long as he doesn't actively patrol his own area I wouldn't have an issue.

I don't know the guy so I won't judge him and is he is honest and doesn't cause problems I wouldn't personally worry about it.

 

[bowieknife50]

It is a direct conflict of interest.

The world is full of them. At least he acknowledges this and as long as he doesn't actively patrol his own area I wouldn't have an issue.

I don't know the guy so I won't judge him and is he is honest and doesn't cause problems I wouldn't personally worry about it.

He does patrol his own area...

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[Northernpiker]

As long as he does everything legally and it doesn't interfere with his job, I wouldn't have a problem with this.

 

[tttoadman]

It is a little odd. It is like a welder inspecting his own welds. If it is his patrol area, does that mean that another game officer has to come in there just to check him and his clients? He could manipulate the conditions in the area he is "patrolling" that could benefit his guiding business.

 

[JWP58]

If you have a problem with it, by all means contact the department. Im sure they are aware if it and have policy & procedures concerning secondary occupations.

I think youd be suprised at the number of forum heros that occupy professions that make it easy for them to know all of the "nook and crannies" through their job....and probably on your tax dime. Are you ok with that? Or is it a buzz kill?

 

[HookUp]

How is it a conflict of interest? I see no issue with it. If we could get more folks to follow the rules that would be a good thing. If this guy learned the back country by checking hunters in elk camps then started encroaching on them with his own business I could see a issue with other outfitters and a serious blow to his reputation.

 

[bowieknife50]

If you have a problem with it, by all means contact the department. Im sure they are aware if it and have policy & procedures concerning secondary occupations.

I think youd be suprised at the number of forum heros that occupy professions that make it easy for them to know all of the "nook and crannies" through their job....and probably on your tax dime. Are you ok with that? Or is it a buzz kill?

I'm not sure yet if I have a problem with it or not. He is completely legal, permitted and I have never met or heard anything about the guy so for all I know he could be next in line for canonization. All I've figured out so far is that the situation doesn't exactly make me feel rosy.

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[durangobrad]

How is it a conflict of interest? I see no issue with it. If we could get more folks to follow the rules that would be a good thing. If this guy learned the back country by checking hunters in elk camps then started encroaching on them with his own business I could see a issue with other outfitters and a serious blow to his reputation.

I think the issue here is you are assuming he is one to "follow the rules." This conflict puts him in a position where it would be easy to break the rules and get away with it.

 

[HuntHarder]

This could go very bad or very good. I will say that in my experience, the conflict of interest usually ends up a problem. It is amazing what money can do to some outfitters. In our state, the raffle and auction tags bring so much money that outfitters go to great lengths to get their clients their animal. Some of it is legal but extremely unethical and some of it is blatantly illegal but difficult to prove. I know a warden friend of mine here is not able to fish in local tournaments because other fisherman claimed he was scouting bass on beds while on patrol and it was not fair. The dept. sided with the other fisherman and decided it was best to not fish in those tournaments.

 

[elkguide]

The old phrase, "fish or cut bait" comes to mind.

While it may be "legal" and he may be the most ethical person in the world, the appearance and potential for an issue is just so great that I find it hard to believe that his employer knowingly allows it.

 

[IdahoElk]

The old phrase, "fish or cut bait" comes to mind.

While it may be "legal" and he may be the most ethical person in the world, the appearance and potential for an issue is just so great that I find it hard to believe that his employer knowingly allows it.

Especially when money is involved but then he could be the one in a million that's beyond reproach.

 

[jlaner0408]

Just because there is a potential for something to happen doesn’t mean anything bad is happening. I feel like everyone that has a major issue with this is kind of putting the cart before the horse. The good thing about the American justice system is that you’re innocent until proven guilty- so if he’s not doing anything illegal or unethical, there’s no reason in the world to crucify the guy for making some side money by doing something that closely parallels his day job

 

[Where's Bruce?]

If it's ethical and legal I don't see a problem.

 

[gbflyer]

Link to website?

 

[Trial153]

I don’t see an issue with it.

 

[Superkodiak38]

As a retired LEO I can tell you that there are, or should be, rules established by his agency that govern whether or not this creates a conflict. IMHO if he advertises his business and the fact that he is a Conservation Officer, the odds are his department knows about it. He has every right to own his own business. What he does on his own time as long as it is legal is up to him. If his agency finds an issue with it being a conflict then it is up to them to resolve it but it wouldn't involve anyone but him and his agency. No other "outfitter" has more to loose than this guy if he "breaks the rules" because he is not only loosing his business but his regular job, career, retirement, benefits and basically being disqualified to ever work in his chosen profession again.

Does he have an advantage ? I don't know, I have several friends that are conservation officers that aren't the best hunters. If you are a truck driver and see a big buck cross the road does that give you an unfair advantage ? I mean your being paid to drive the truck not scout deer ??

 

[Kevin Dill]

No problem with it. I'd probably be quicker to hunt with a guy whose main living is tied to his honesty and enforcement of game regulations ... versus some of the dudes who do guiding. It's not a conflict of interest because neither occupation automatically compromises conduct in the other. Sure, he could cheat...but he could do that on his own while hunting, fishing etc.

I have lived in a rural county all my life. It's common for a judge (municipal, common pleas, probate) to be a lawyer with a private practice simultaneous to his judgeship. Anyone could see the potential for that to produce conflicts, but it's how things operate. It's not a perfect situation but it works.

 

[backcountry_hunter]

I did a short stint in my younger years as an enforcement officer and in our contract it was spelled out for situations like this, what we could and could not do both on and off duty (specifically when it came to holding other jobs). This individual being a natural resource officer, I'm a little surprised his/her department allows this.... but if it's legitmate from the State of Michigan's policy standpoint I'd see no moral concern.

 

[cnelk]

There's a real good chance he knows who his clientele WONT be