Below is a Facebook post from the North Dakota Game and Fish Department. The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation urges citizens in all states to be engaged and become aware of anti-poaching efforts where they live. RMEF and Fiocchi increase the visibility of poaching incidents in an effort to reduce it. 

Behind the Badge – Anonymous by District Game Warden Kylor Johnston 

Have you ever known of a fish and wildlife violation and not reported it? I am going to explain how and why you can report it and remain confidential. 

Many cases are made by routine patrol and focused investigations by district wardens. But no matter how hard a warden works, we can never be everywhere at once. This is where the Report All Poachers program comes in as a valuable tool for hunters and anglers, sportsmen and women, landowners and other members of the public. The RAP program offers an opportunity to report suspected fish and wildlife crimes anonymously. 

Individuals have a couple of options for reporting. For instance, they can call the RAP hotline at 701-328-9921 and provide whatever information they have, and it will be directed to the local game warden where the violation occurred. Or they can call any warden directly. Once the information is given to the warden, investigation into the case begins. Many of the reports end up with the poacher being charged with an offense and convicted in court. 

I wanted to explain a few recent cases I’ve had where the caller was able to remain unidentified and still receive a RAP reward. When you hear how simple it is, you will think it is not real, but I guarantee it is, and the callers were issued rewards. 

One caller ended up getting a check for $800. This call involved the following details: heard a gunshot, secured a description of the vehicle, found a deer, gave a location and reported it immediately. The suspect was located and, although the call came in regarding one poached deer, multiple deer were seized, four poached deer in total. As a result, multiple rifles were seized. This is a prime example of seeing something and thinking, “Oh, it was just one time,” which is not the right mentality because if they were capable of doing it once you can almost guarantee it has happened before and will happen again. 

One caller received a $600 reward for the following details: vehicle and license plate, location, time and what kind of deer was shot. One phone call lasting less than 2 minutes led to a poacher being caught, charged and convicted. 

I can keep going with more cases and more rewards, but you get the gist of the general theme. These callers to this day are anonymous, unless they have chosen to tell people of their good deeds and rewards. The burden on the caller is simply gathering as many details as they can, and a short phone call with the RAP line or a district warden.

While the aforementioned are just a couple of deer cases, the same applies for using the RAP line to report suspicious activity involving fish, upland birds; the list goes on. And, yes, callers in these instances can remain anonymous and eligible for rewards if the information assists in the conviction of crimes. 

If you do not want a reward and just want to report a crime, that is fine as well and happens all the time. A reward is just a nice opportunity to say thank you for helping wardens protect the resources we all value and enjoy. 

Special thanks to the RAP program for making rewards possible and to those individuals who have utilized the program or will dial the phone number down the road. 

(Photo credit: North Dakota Game and Fish Department)