GAME WARDENS QUESTION DIRECTOR'S ACTIONS

http://www.abqjournal.com/news/metro/15114426632newsmetro08-15-08.htm



Friday, August 15, 2008

Concerns Over Warden Raised

By Jeff Jones
Journal Staff Writer
New Mexico game wardens are questioning the leadership of state Game & Fish Director Bruce Thompson, who is facing the possible revocation of his hunting privileges following a conviction in connection with shooting a deer on private land last fall.
Thompson "has the same legal rights as any other citizen; however, ethically, Director Thompson should be held to a higher standard. He is after all the state game warden," the head of the New Mexico Conservation Officers Association, which represents most of Game & Fish's in-the-field officers, said in a recent letter to the state Game Commission that oversees the agency. "We believe the image Director Thompson portrays to the public reflects poorly on the entire department (and) in particular its officers."
The letter also criticized Thompson on other issues including officer pay, officer qualifications and the selection of duty rifles.
Colin Duff, the Conservation Officers Association president, said in an interview Thursday that his group has met with Thompson and Game Commission Chair Tom Arvas since the letter went out and have started to deal with some of the concerns.
"The concerns are still there," Duff said. But he added, "We're in a better spot than we were before."
Messages left Thursday for Thompson, who has headed Game & Fish since 2003, were not returned.
A spokesman for Gov. Bill Richardson said Richardson takes the officers' concerns seriously but said the governor is confident his appointed Game Commission, which will ultimately decide whether to yank Thompson's hunting privileges, "will treat Bruce Thompson's case like any other individual."
Thompson had a valid hunting license last fall but shot a deer in November on private land on which he didn't have permission to hunt. He said the mistake was inadvertent and pleaded not guilty, but ultimately entered a no-contest plea earlier this summer and was fined $500.
Thompson could lose his hunting privileges for up to three years, and he has asked his own agency for a hearing on the revocation case.
He has also applied for — and won — licenses in a state lottery for upcoming deer, javelina and oryx hunts.
Duff, in his letter to the Game Commission, was critical of Thompson's earlier plea of not guilty, saying it was a "slap in the face" to game officers.
The association "has serious concerns over Director Thompson's actions and behavior throughout the course of this incident," Duff wrote. "First and foremost, the director's signature and seal appear on the very regulations he violated."
Duff added in the letter: "It is also unbelievable the internal investigation and punishment of (game officers) lies on the desk of the very director whom is ... convicted and soon to be revoked."