CELEBRATING SUCCESS: Fighting wildlife crime in Oregon

Originally published February 21, 2017

We are excited to share an important donation we were able to make to help combat wildlife crime in Oregon. Last fall we donated three accessorized all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) to the Oregon State Police – Fish and Wildlife Division (OSP) to support wildlife law enforcement. One of those ATVs, along with a trailer, is dedicated for use on Sauvie Island, near Portland, while the other two are to be used by OSP, at their discretion, wherever the need is greatest in Oregon.

“Poaching and other wildlife-related criminal activities are an unfortunate reality throughout our state and we wanted to do something to help."

"...In consulting with the OSP we determined, together, that access to ATVs would help its personnel take enforcement farther into the field. Unfortunately, OSP doesn’t have the budget for a lot of this type of equipment. While this is a small step, we hope that it will help bring more criminals to justice and deter poaching and other wildlife crimes moving forward”, explained our Executive Director, Tim Greseth.

Lieutenant Ryan Howell explains, “The Oregon State Police is very appreciative of the donation of the three ATVs as well as the continued support from the Oregon Wildlife Foundation. The ATVs will allow our Troopers to cover more area and be more effective in the enforcement of the fish and wildlife laws.

An Oregonian article from December 2016 stated that Oregon has averaged 764 poaching investigations each year since 2012 and that the official number is probably just scratching the surface of a problem that appears to be growing.

We have established the Wildlife Law Enforcement Fund to accept donations for and provide support to the Oregon State Police – Fish and Wildlife Division’s effort to combat wildlife-related crime in Oregon. You can directly help support those continuing efforts by checking out our donation page and exploring more of our projects and previous work, to better understand how you can help conserve Oregon wildlife and natural resources for years to come!