Pend Oreille County gets wildlife officer

A state wildlife enforcement officer has been assigned to Pend Oreille County, filling a position vacant since July.

Travis Feldner has been hired and will be stationed in Newport by mid-January, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife announced Friday.

Feldner has worked for the Idaho Fish and Game Department for seven years, most recently in the Burley area, and previously served as a reserve officer for the Moscow Police Department, Idaho and Washington wildlife officials said Friday. He has an associate’s degree in criminal justice and earned a bachelor’s degree in wildlife science from the University of Idaho.

“We’ve been covering Pend Oreille County with officers from adjacent areas, but we’re glad to finally have this position filled,” said Mike Whorton, head of enforcement for the Spokane Region of Washington Fish and Wildlife.

Feldner brings the number of commissioned officers to 17 working the state’s 10 easternmost counties, Whorton said. That’s down from 23 two decades ago.

Whorton said he expects to fill a vacancy in the Colville station, depending on funding decisions from the agency’s Olympia headquarters. One officer now works out of Colville.

“We still have weaknesses in coverage,” Whorton said, noting that his officers respond to a wide range of cases beyond poaching violations. “We used to have 3.5 full-time positions in Stevens County, and we’re down to two. Spokane County is down from four officers to three, and Pend Oreille and Asotin counties are each down to one.”