Lessons Not Learned
As is the case with most other states, game wardens in North Dakota are licensed peace officers able to enforce all state laws when needed. Game wardens go to the same basic law enforcement training as traditional law enforcement (sheriff’s deputies, police officers, state troopers, etc.) and are required to have so many hours of training throughout a career to keep their peace officers license current. With that said, most of the cases we deal with are wildlife related. Occasionally, however, we encounter violations that are not wildlife related while performing our job that we must address as licensed peace officers. The following is just one example of a few I have encountered over the years.
In mid-October of 2019, I received a complaint from a landowner southwest of Hague, about three waterfowl hunters hunting in his unharvested soybean field. It is illegal to hunt an unharvested field in North Dakota without landowner permission. When I asked the landowner if he wanted to pursue charges, the landowner told me he was going to speak with them first. A short time later the landowner called me back and told me while one of the hunters was apologetic for their actions, the other two hunters had some choice words about how they felt about the landowner calling the game warden on them.
Later that morning I encountered that same group of waterfowl hunters at their rental property. I learned the three waterfowl hunters were part of a larger group of seven. While I was speaking with the hunters about the three members actions from earlier in the morning, I noted five cases of beer outside of their rental unit. When I checked their hunting licenses, I learned no one in the group was 21 years old. Three of the young hunters claimed the alcohol as theirs. I made a quick call to one of my Emmons County deputies and it was decided I would cite the three hunters who claimed the alcohol for minor in possession. After taking care of all the required paperwork, I was on my way. Later that fall, all three hunters plead guilty to minor in possession of alcohol.
Fast forward to the fall of 2020. I was on patrol northeast of Hague in late October when I found a group of six waterfowl hunters set up on a small wetland. When the group began to pick up their gear, I went out to perform a field check. While checking the first hunter’s license, I thought I smelled an alcoholic beverage while speaking with him. When I checked the second hunter’s license, I knew I smelled an alcoholic beverage. When I inquired if anyone in the group was drinking, everyone said they had few beers before going out that afternoon. After checking hunting licenses, I found out four of the hunters were under 21 years of age. It didn’t take me long to realize the underage hunters were the same four hunters who were in the group of seven from the previous year who had not received citations for minor in possession of alcohol. Once again, I called one of my Emmons County deputies and it was decided I would cite the four hunters who were underage for minor in consumption. All four hunters pled guilty to minor in consumption of alcohol later that fall.
In addition to being illegal for persons under 21 to possess and or consume alcohol in North Dakota, it is also illegal for persons to hunt while under the influence of alcohol in North Dakota (Hunting Under the Influence). Fortunately, in this case, I don’t believe any of the hunters were over the legal limit. It is never a good idea to mix alcohol with guns and hunting, and when North Dakota game wardens encounter an alcohol violation (or any other violation), whether wildlife related or not, wardens will be ready to handle it.
- District Game Warden Erik Schmidt