Fish And Game Chief Knows About Poaching

The state’s top game warden knows what it is like to be on the wrong side of the law.

Steve Mealey, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game director, was cited for illegal possession of a game animal 29 years ago. Mealey, then a first-year outfitter in Salmon, paid a $25 fine for possessing an untagged deer.

Mealey publicly acknowledged the game violation in a meeting in Pocatello March 26, while discussing new poaching fines. But he told the Idaho Fish and Game Commission about it before he was hired.

“It was so long ago that we didn’t feel it was relevant to today’s situation,” said John Burns, Fish and Game Commission chairman.

Mealey has been a strong advocate of increased penalties for poaching and Gov. Batt signed a bill into law in March that raised the civil penalties for people caught killing multiple game animals illegally.

“His violation wouldn’t even qualify as a flagrant violation under the bill,” said Bill Goodnight, Idaho Wildlife Federation vice president. “I don’t think it reflects on how Steve feels about wildlife.”

Mealey had just returned from Vietnam in 1968 and was finishing his first year outfitting in what now is the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness. He was coming out at the end of the season with a deer he had shot, when he was confronted by warden Jerry Neufeld. He was cited for illegal possession and paid the fine, which he said was stiffer than it seems today.

“It’s something I’m not proud of,” he said. “It sure made me think hard about why we hunt.”