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In Memory of Steve Reighard

Iowa Conservation Officer, Steve Reighard passed away January 8th, 2021 due to COVID-19.

The following article was published in the August 2016 edition of Okoboji Magazine.

 

It may have been a long road to get here, but Steve Reighard found his way to the job he’s wanted since he was five years old.

Now, as a conservation officer for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources stationed in Dickinson County, Reighard lives out his lifelong dream on a daily basis.

“At age five I wanted to be a park ranger and at age seven I wanted to be a game warden. Now both have come true,” Reighard said.

It didn’t happen right away. After graduating high school in 1979 Reighard learned getting in with the DNR wasn’t going to be a quick proposition. First would be four to six more years of school and seasonal posts with potentially lots of moving around before securing a full-time position.

So after studying management and accounting Reighard embarked on a series of different jobs including driving truck, welding and construction before going back to school at age 38 to again pursue his dream job. After a couple years at Iowa Lakes Community College and a couple more at South Dakota State University, Reighard graduated in 2004 with a biology degree and fishing and wildlife emphasis.

“I grew up loving the outdoors — hunted and fished since I was a little kid — so I got the best job in the world for me, no doubt,” Reighard said.

Reighard worked at the Spirit Lake Fish Hatchery a couple summers and became a park ranger at Gull Point State Park where he stayed for seven years. About four years ago he took the conservation officer position he holds now. Reighard is joined by Jeff Morrison as the two full-time conservation officers for Dickinson County.

There is no typical day with the DNR,” Reighard said. “The array of things you do is amazing, but by far our most important job is public safety, especially on the water.” To help out during the summer recreation season there are usually 7-8 seasonal water patrol officers bolstering the ranks. Five patrol boats are situated on Gull Point to cover the waters of West and East Lake Okoboji, Lake Minnewashta, and Upper and Lower Gar Lakes. Two more boats are stationed at Templar Park on Big Spirit Lake. Full-time officers from other counties often come to help in the summer, especially during busy holiday weekends like around the Fourth of July, which saw 15 other officers come lend a hand this year. In the cold months it’s Winter Games that draws the most attention. “When everyone else is playing, that’s when we need to be working,” Reighard said. “We assist all the other law enforcement organizations out here and they help us out as well. We’re blessed to have really good working relationships between everyone around here.”

A common misconception may be that the conservation officers of Dickinson County are only busy during the summer. After all, when summer ends activity on the lake drastically calms down. But that’s certainly not the case. “People might think we’re only busy during the summer, but it’s really year-round. The only down time really is when the ice isn’t safe to walk on and there is no open water to fish yet,” Reighard said. There are plenty of things keeping Reighard busy throughout the year including education programs on boating, hunting, snowmobiling and much more. In the spring with ice out, fishing and boating begins, before giving way to more recreational boats. There are also around 500 buoys to anchor and remove each spring and fall. In summer the main focus is boater safety and inspecting around 3,000 dock and gas lines making sure they’re in compliance with a variety of permits.

Riprap and tree removal on shorelines must be inspected and approved. Boat dealers and bait shops must be inspected and licensed, as do taxidermists, anyone trapping or harvesting turtles, people raising turtles, fish or other aquaculture as well as businesses that sell hunting or fishing licenses. Commercial fishermen coming to remove “rough” fish such as buffalo carp and freshwater drum from the lakes must be checked as well.

“I could go on for days about all the different things we do,” Reighard said. “What I enjoy most is the diversity of it. When spring gets here I’

Reighard noted that, in fact, one of his busiest days came on a Saturday in the middle of winter when he checked 356 fishing licenses, 28 ATVs and 11 snowmobiles in one day. Late season hunters can sometimes be out at the same time as ice fishermen and snowmobilers, keeping Reighard continuously busy.m ready to stop walking around on the ice and by the end of summer I’m ready to switch modes again.”

“It’s different from 20 years ago because so many people from other states do both hunt and fish here,” Reighard said. “We’re blessed to have such great natural resources in this county and it’s such a boon to the economy.”

All this is not to mention the advisory boards Reighard sits on for the criminal justice and environmental studies programs at Iowa Lakes Community College or mentoring young hunters and fishermen and women, as well as working with Pheasants Forever and Ducks Unlimited.

Oh, and there are the continued training sessions in defensive tactics and shooting three times a year. And nuisance calls, plenty of nuisance calls.

We get calls on everything. People thought they saw a mountain lion or a moose, or injured animals and all sorts of things. People get nuisance animals like racoons, woodchucks, bats, pigeons or skunks in or around their cabins,” Reighard said. “We refer them to a nuisance control office who’s licensed through the state to remove them.”

It all keeps Reighard on his toes day to day and season to season. And he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“We’re always on call and never bored,” Reighard said. “There’s never a dull moment in Dickinson County.”

 

TIP Case - Swans

ANKENY, Iowa – On December 6, 2019, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources received an anonymous tip about a man shooting trumpeter swans at Paul Errington Marsh, just east of Ankeny. A hunter alerted authorities of a man shooting trumpeter swans at the marsh. The hunter later heard three shots fired and then saw three swans flopping in the water, as well as other swans flying over.

DNR Conservation Officer Dustin Eighmy arrived on scene a short time later and witnessed the man shoot a trumpeter swan. As Conservation Officer Eighmy was approaching the man, the man shot at another swan. He also witnessed three swans in a pile near the man, as well as the swan he had just killed and two others in the marsh that the man could not retrieve. When questioned, the man claimed he thought the swans were geese.

Loai Abdulal, 28, of Ankeny, is charged with six counts of illegal taking of a protected non-game species and one count for an unplugged shotgun. A DNR conservation officer seized his shotgun. The man had shot six trumpeter swans, with five of them being young swans. If convicted, the man will face a $1,500 civil penalty per trumpeter swan.

“Sadly, this isn’t uncommon lately, we’ve seen this happening more frequently so it’s very important that all hunters identify their target before pulling the trigger,” said DNR Conservation Officer Dustin Eighmy. “We’re very thankful that a hunter knew to call to alert us of this poaching incident in a very timely manner.”

 

 

Turn-In- Poachers (TIP) Behind The Scenes

“What do you people really do with the poaching information I’m giving you?”
In my 25-years working as the Iowa DNR TIP coordinator and liaison to the private Iowa TIP Board of Directors (501c3), I cannot remember how many times I had this question posed from a citizen and TIP caller. It is a legitimate question after all, and I always provided the caller with a complete and detailed answer.

The Iowa Turn-In- Poachers Program was first established by the Iowa DNR Law Enforcement Bureau and an organized group of Iowa sportsmen working together to provide a more efficient way for the public to report fish and wildlife crime. In 1985 the TIP program became active, or “live”as they say. Policy standards and protocol were developed by both sides to make this new reporting program run smoothly. DNR and the TIP Board both had their duties/responsibilities. When it came to investigating TIP case information DNR Conservation Officers handled that role. The Officers passed along their successful cases to the TIP Board of Directors who then determined cash rewards for callers whose information had led to at least one ticket being written by an Officer.

The public has several options with which they can provide poaching information to Iowa DNR. The original and still popular method of contact is by calling the TIP Hotline 800/532-2020. Other methods of reporting include on-line at www.iowadnr.gov/tip or by simply calling the area Conservation Officer directly. Information can be provided day or night 24-7. During regular business hours Monday through Friday a live operator will answer the call and create a TIP Case by taking down the information the caller provides. Keeping in mind, that TIP is based upon “anonymity,” the caller’s identity is not needed to record TIP information. The caller is given a TIP case number by which the caller can track the progress of his or her case. The TIP operator will make a determination, based upon the callers information as to the urgency of the report. If the incident is a fish or wildlife crime in-progress every effort is made to alert the nearest Conservation Officer so that suspects can be contacted and an investigation initiated as soon as possible. TIP Case investigation statistics have shown that the citizen who calls the TIP line immediately after witnessing a fish or wildlife crime has a greater chance that his or her case will be successful (one or more tickets written), and becoming eligible for the cash reward.

As you can imagine, not all TIP cases can be successfully investigated in one day. Some cases take weeks or even months to complete. An investigation of this duration may result in multiple charges filed on a number of suspects. Following completion of successful TIP cases the officer will submit a request for reward payment to the TIP Board. The Board reviews these cases 3-4 times per year during regular meetings. The Board reviews the details of the case investigation including cooperation by the TIP caller; nature of the crime; fish/wildlife species and numbers taken illegally. The most common or preferred form of reward delivery is by personal delivery by the Conservation Officer direct to the TIP case informant. This type of Officer – Informant contact allows the Officer to personally thank the informant for their quick actions and detailed information.

TIP is one of the only examples of a statewide program which facilitates public participation to help protect Iowa’s fish and wildlife resources. As you can now imagine, the success of the Iowa TIP Program is only as good as the good citizens who use it to help Iowa DNR Law Enforcement Officers stop fish and wildlife crime. Please consider donating $2 to the TIP-Of- Iowa Program when you purchase your hunting and fishing licenses.

Steve Dermand - Iowa DNR retired

 

North Carolina and Louisiana hunters plead guilty to multiple major hunting violations

MEDIA CONTACT: Andrea Bevington, DNR Conservation Officer, (712) 520-0508, Andrea.Bevington@dnr.iowa.gov

TAYLOR COUNTY, Iowa -- On Wednesday, November 7, Iowa DNR Conservation Officers Andrea Bevington and Adam Arnold were checking hunters in deer camps in Taylor County when they observed one group of hunters with an untagged deer. After interviewing the hunters, the conservation officers uncovered numerous hunting violations including falsifying residency and hunting with Missouri deer licenses in Iowa.

The following defendants were charged and pled guilty in court:

Davis Dunlap, 39, of Willow Spring, North Carolina pled guilty to one (1) count of no non-resident any-sex deer bow license and one (1) count of no non-resident antlerless deer bow license with fines totaling over $1,250.

Nathan Granger, 29, of DeQuincy, Louisiana pled guilty to one (1) count of illegal take of an antlerless deer and one (1) count of no non-resident antlerless deer bow license. Fines and liquidated damages totaled over $2,090 plus condemnation of a bow and other hunting equipment.

Ralph Thompson, 52, of Dry Creek, Louisiana pled guilty to two (2) counts of illegal take of an antlerless deer, one (1) count of false claim of resident deer license and one (1) count of no non-resident any-sex deer bow license. Fines and liquidated damages totaled over $4,400 plus condemnation of a bow and other hunting equipment.

Clint Bushnell, 27, of Dry Creek, Louisiana pled guilty to one (1) count of illegal take of an antlered deer (over 150 pts), one (1) count of illegal take of an antlerless deer and one (1) count of no non-resident any-sex deer license. Fines and liquidated damages totaled over $11,200 plus condemnation of a bow and other hunting equipment.

Total fines, liquidated damages and equipment condemned exceeded $23,600. Four deer were donated to the DNR HUSH program.

» Investigation finds Michigan residents unlawfully took nearly two dozen deer over 16 years

CEDAR COUNTY, Iowa – In an effort to provide quality, legal deer hunting opportunities for Iowans, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service conducted a joint investigation that put an end to an illegal scheme to take white-tailed deer in Iowa. An Iowa Department of Natural Resources investigation into the illegal use of state-issued, Iowa landowner tenant deer tags, which first began in 2017, led to a larger investigation that revealed 16 years of illegal activity by out of state poachers in rural Cedar County that has dated as far back as 2002.

“Thanks to one single tip from the public which led us to the initial investigation and eventually turned into something much greater, we were able to put a stop to years and years of illegal activity,” said Eric Wright, DNR conservation officer. “Deer hunting is a very popular sport and hobby across our state and we want to ensure that all hunters are doing so fairly and abiding by the law.”

The investigation found that a Michigan family group that spanned three generations - a grandfather, his two sons and two grandchildren - were poaching trophy-sized white-tailed deer on a privately-owned Iowa farm without the required hunting permits or tags. Douglas Leo Hebert, age 49, of Indian River, Michigan, along with his 51-year-old brother, Jeffrey Leo Hebert of Bay City, Michigan, and their 73-year-old father, Leo Frederick Hebert of Bay City, Michigan, contrived the illegal arrangement over the course of 16 seasons, where the Iowa landowners supplied them with lodging and tags for any deer that were harvested by the group in exchange for fishing opportunities in Michigan. Over the course of the investigation, Iowa Department of Natural Resources Conservation Officer Eric Wright and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service special agents from Iowa and Michigan uncovered 19 white-tailed deer that were taken illegally, 17 of which were bucks. The investigative team also found that the Michigan residents never purchased, nor applied for, the required non-resident hunting privileges in the state of Iowa. Per plea agreement, charges were not filed on the juveniles.

Through a plea agreement reached between the Cedar County (Iowa) Attorney’s Office and the defendants, the Michigan-based Hebert family agreed to pay more than $51,000 in fines and forfeit 17 deer mounts, as well as the two compound bows and a crossbow which were used to take the deer. Additionally, their access to hunting privileges in Iowa was suspended for a minimum period of three years. This plea agreement has a greater impact to their access to hunting across 46 other states, because Iowa is a member of the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact. This suspension may be observed in any of the other member states at the discretion of the appropriate authorities in those states. The three Iowa residents involved who knowingly aided and abetted the Michigan poachers cooperated fully throughout the investigation and agreed to pay fines totaling $780.

“Collaborating with our state law enforcement partners is a central part of how we work to protect wildlife populations from over harvest and illegal commercialization. My thanks go out to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources law enforcement team,” said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Special Agent in Charge Greg Jackson.

Concerned citizens help us stop poaching and other wildlife crime. We encourage anyone who has knowledge of unlawful hunting to report it to their local conservation officer or call the Turn In Poachers (T.I.P) Hotline at 1-800-532-2020 or at www.iowadnr.gov/tip.

 

» Pennsylvania men found guilty

In June of 2017, Iowa Conservation Officers received a call on the Turn in Poacher Hotline(1-800-532-2020) that two subjects were from Pennsylvania were claiming to live in Benton County hunting in Iowa as residents.

During the investigation the Conservation Officer’s learned in early in November the suspects traveled back to Iowa and purchased resident deer bow licenses and one subject harvested a 9 point buck in Iowa County. The subject then later returned to Iowa from Pennsylvania and purchased resident late muzzleloaders deer licenses. Officers located the suspects hunting during the late muzzleloader season. Interviews were conducted and determined the TIP information was correct and items were seized. Both subjects were charged with 4 wildlife and license violations due to the false claims for residency. The 2 subjects plead guilty and paid fines totaling $2,172. Both suspects have a 1 year hunting privileges suspension.The Iowa TIP Board of Directors approved a $400 reward for the informant in this case.


» Arizona man found guilty of deer poaching

Nicholas Slater of Glendale, Ariz. was found guilty following a trial on Feb. 12, 2018 for charges related to poaching a whitetail deer. The poaching incident occurred at Lake Manawa State Park in Council Bluffs on Nov. 19, 2016.

Slater was found guilty on seven charges, including hunting on a game refuge, not having a valid nonresident hunting license and habitat fee, not having a valid deer tag (either antlerless or antlered/anysex), and illegal taking, transporting and possession of deer.

The total fines for Slater are $7,061.95, which includes court-imposed civil damages for the reimbursement of the deer. In addition, Slater will have his hunting privileges suspended for three years in Iowa and the Interstate Wildlife Violator's Compact as a result of the conviction.

The Iowa DNR was assisted by the Arizona Game and Fish Department with the investigation.

For questions about this case contact Iowa Conservation Officer Adam Gacke at 712.520-5570.

» Boone County, Iowa

In late March 2017, Iowa DNR Officers received a “tip” by a concerned citizen about a subject who was in possession of a fresh-looking deer rack during the closed deer season. The tip information also stated that the subject was in possession of parts of an “albino” buck deer. With the aid of the TIP report information given by the citizen DNR Officers were able to obtain a search warrant.

DNR Officers served the warrant and found evidence of both deer, just as the citizen had stated in the TIP report. The albino buck had been shot with a high-powered rifle. The other buck had been poached with a 20 gauge shotgun without a license or deer tag. DNR Officers seized the following items from the suspect: 3-buck deer; compound bow and 20 gauge shotgun. Seven wildlife charges were issued relating to unlawful possession and taking of whitetail deer. The subject pled guilty to five charges in a plea bargain and paid fines totaling $2,280. The Iowa TIP Board of Directors approved a $600 reward for the informant in this case.

This poaching case could not have been made without the valuable information provided by a concerned citizen.

  Silver Lake Mussell Case Deer  

 

P.O. Box 703 - Pella, Iowa 50219 To contact the Iowa DNR Turn-In-Poachers liaison officer email:
matt.rush@dnr.iowa.gov
DNR Tip Line: 1.800.532.2020
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