Angry citizens called Sierra Wave Monday morning to report that more than a dozen Fish and Wildlife employees and just as many trucks were holding a checkpoint stop south of Bishop. The workers were checking for violations of Fish and Game code. The checkpoint was expected to last until 2pm Monday.
While some callers objected to what they called this “stop and frisk” policy, others were more understanding. Jim Wilkins of Wrightwood, a Forest Service Public Information Officer at times for our area, arrived in the Eastern Sierra for a fishing trip. He said he knows there are some who do not respect the wildlife and the rules surrounding it. Others pointed to the cost of the operation and what they said was a violation of privacy.
Fish and Wildlife did issue a press release at the end of last week. It says this:
“The CaliforniaDepartment of Fish and Wildlife will be conducting a wildlife checkpoint operation to promote safety, education and compliance with law and regulations. CDFW law enforcement division will be conducting the inspection on southbound Highway 395, south of Bishop on Monday, September 23rd from 8am to 2pm.
“The wildlife checkpoint is being conducted to protect and conserve fish and wildlife, to encourage safety and sportsmanship by promoting voluntary compliance with laws, rules and regulations through education.
“All anglers and hunters will be required to stop and submit to an inspection. CDFW officers will also be providing informative literature about the invasive quagga mussel and New Zealand mud snail.”
I fully support Fish and Game, been fishing and hunting for many years. I have only been checked one time and it took all of about two minutes, she thanked me for my cooperation and let me go on about my business. Stop me any time, I will alway be… Read more »
Kind of sick that you can enter the country illegally and be rewarded but if you’re over your limit by one stupid little fish you get a citation.
Some Country we live in
yeah good job DFW, whatever!
Bob… Two questions….Was Christopher Columbus an “illegal alien “…..and was he allowed to fish ?
Well I guess I’ll just mosey over to Mexico and fish. Oh wait I can’t do that they’ll throw me in jail.
No, Christopher Columbus is a well celebrated individual in american history? You see, you can control the way people think, by the way you portray something and what information the people get at the time of portrayal, most of us have immigrant bloodline and become insanely hypocritical over this issue,… Read more »
Many of the above questions/concerns are clarified here:
http://blogs.findlaw.com/blotter/2013/07/civil-rights-during-a-traffic-stop-5-reminders.html
After seeing these latest round of Checkpoints I’m actually considering Renouncing my U.S. Citizenship and moving abroad, have fun living in tha FEMA GULAG of the Nazi State Ya’ll, I’d rather be Fishing on a white sandy beach with No No, Game Warden, Sheriff, CHP, Police, Obama-Care Agents or other… Read more »
These check points are excellent oppertunities for all of us to practice our constitutional rights. Exersize your rights or lose them people! I really have no problem with them checking on hunters. I like Deer and don’t like poachers. But the ol’ fish thing is one big joke, and complete… Read more »
I was wondering about the store bought fish thing as well. What if you are driving home from a fishing trip in Oregon? Are those fish subject to the California possession limit? Do you ever read the weekly Q&A that Fish and Game does? They answer questions that people send… Read more »
I’d have to guess guilty until proven innocent
That’s backwards from the way it should be!
After all this B.S. …and after 33 straight years of being SOMEWHERE in the eastern sierra on the last Saturday in April…I think I’m gonna skip the Opener this year. God knows how bad it’ll be by then.
How many hoodlums did the Thugs (Fish &Game) apprehend? Was it worth that giant payroll? 12 + trucks. What happened to a bus. Or were the excessive number of vehicles & uniforms needed to scare the public into a truthful answer. Yes I finally realize i’m i a POLICE STATE………POINT… Read more »
I don’t want to steal Up The Creeks thunder but..
GOVERNMENT GONE WILD!
Topless female wardens would stop most objections to frisk searches from hunters.
These checkpoints are a small inconvenience compared to the coming “Manditory Forced Obama Care Home Inspections”… I agree with Robert Johnson, The Eastern Sierra Is starting to Look Like The Fourth Reich, Not Good
Coming soon to the Eastern Sierra…BLM checkpoint searching for purple glass and old bottles. Any vehicle with a visible rake, shovel, metal detector or any other digging implement will be subject to a MANDATORY search. This s*#t is getting old, FAST !
That’s already happened…
funny how the same people who thought the burning man profiling was OK, don’t feel the same way about hunters. In fact, I hope they were inspecting all weapons and confiscating any that weren’t properly registered. How would you like seeing your great-grandpa’s gun that’s been in your family for… Read more »
Geez Salt Magnolia,
Educate yourself much before posting things on the internet? HAHAHA!
FYI: Currently, The US of A does not have a “gun registration.”
I know that must bum you out…
Mr.NRA….If what sugar magnolia says is wrong in your educated eyes,if you have an older weapon with no serial numbers,or an older weapon that doesn’t have readable serial numbers,a good chance it could be taken….maybe given back later,but checked out,and probably by ATF…..Your rude comment comes across well with your… Read more »
If it was my Great Grandfathers gun it does not need to be registered, same thing with my long Guns.
John Wilkes Booth IV, I presume. BoobK, and NRA, the pen is mightier than the sword, and your pens aren’t helping my sword rights.
Stopping people and searching without cause is a very dangerous slope. The intent may not be malice in this instance, but the tyranny of government will always manifest itself due to the corrupt self interest of human nature. In the Soviet Union police check points were the norm and I… Read more »
Perhaps Friends of the Inyo can obtain a grant to run a checkpoint or two? I think the public might react better to a friendly face looking for illegal stuff in their vehicle, then just a person in uniform…
what do you think?
Without enforcement, laws are essentially useless. It’s too bad that we can’t live in a world where everyone is responsible for their actions and respects the rule of law. Until that time comes, occasional enforcement measures will be necessary. If you find enforcement measures such as this frustrating, be sure… Read more »
The notion that enforcing the laws requires mass hassling of everyone at checkpoints took a bit of a hiatus from around 1776, when the British Army was gently dissuaded from continuing the odious practice, until relatively recently in American history. Enforcement measures such as this were discontinued because the Founders… Read more »
Sorry, but you weren’t appointed to speak for our Founders. Your opinion is just that.
Sorry COJ, but we were ALL appointed to speak for our Founders. Your opinion is just that.
Was not “speaking for the Founders” but relating history. Not an opinion, fact. And you don’t like it. Can’t blame you.
At least you have your bare opinion, but only that, to comfort you.
Your interpretations don’t qualify as facts.
What does qualify as facts are court rulings, and these types of actions have been upheld in court.
So I will stand with opinions from our legal system over those from some guy on the internet with a fictitious name.
COJ, Fact is , court rulings are interpretation of the law considering facts.
“Without enforcement, laws are essentially useless”
and there is no better example then illegal immigration
Your are right . It’s too bad that we can’t live in a world where everyone is responsible for their actions. With that said, how could we ever get to that place with the idea that “without enforcement , laws are essentially useless.” It’s not fair to pose a question… Read more »
Do they have trout-sniffing dogs?
I propose we have a recycling checkpoint next week followed by poor taste bumper sticker checkpoint the week after that.
My game warden friend told me some time ago, that if wardens see any fishing or hunting gear in your vehicle that gives them the legal right to search…Quit complaining about small things in life that might delay you for a minute or two…
Roy, don’t tell anyone here, but I actually believe you were an upstanding LEO. Do you think the DFW statement that this checkpoint was worth a thousand patrols is accurate? Seems to me they should be patrolling the back roads at times other than bankers hours. If checkpoints are so… Read more »
They never delay YOU at all, do they Roy ? As soon as they see that gold star in your wallet that ‘s right next to your DL, you’re down the road. No offense , I wish I had one, too.
There is no reason to have to show my badge and ID as I don’t do anything to cause myself to get stopped by the police or Wardens.. As I said once before I have only been stopped one time in my driving life of almost 50 years and that… Read more »
You don’t stop at checkpoints or show your ID?
Never gone thru a checkpoint so no reason to show anything..
Welcome to the Fourth Reich Nazi ameriKKKa 🙂
THUGS! Have nothing to hide but very overwhelming driving into & observed from northbound lanes. I Did both. I never believed in a police state until today.
Not to mention the payroll on the hwy today.
Reminiscent of the Burning Man check point…looks like another Police State! What’s going on in the Eastern Sierras???
bobbyjoe…..Maybe trying to help keep it from becoming another area like Lancaster,Palmdale,and the Antelope Valley has gotten to be…Have you been down there lately,with all the crime and the drugs being sold on the street corners that used to be safe places ?..When there is Law Enforcement presence,whether it be… Read more »
The Department of Fish and Game had no right to pull me and my daughter out of our vehicle. We were on our way to Ridgecrest to visit family and had no fish or game in the vehicle. It had nothing to do with making anything safer…I suggest you get… Read more »
bobbyjoe….So you and your daughter were “pulled out” of your vehicle by the DFG officers ?…..If that’s the case,I’d probably object to it too…in fact,what I would do if I felt I was being treated unfairly by DFG officers on the highway is refuse to answer any of their questions… Read more »
Wayne, DF&W Warden’s are equals to CHP. They are both state law enforcement officers, they simply focus on enforcing different laws.
A lot of drugs and poaching are what is going on. Don’t act so naïve.
You need to document that claim.
Bobby J…maybe when the snow starts to fly, they’ll have a checkpoint for lift tickets for anyone that has ski racks on their vehicle. NOT a PARODY .
Think it’s a good idea !!!…what,with deer season(rifle) either here or coming very soon…and the violations involving trout season,like we ALL know happens a LOT from the Sou Cal’ers….maybe if they had something like this going on a little farther south here in Lone Pine,the guys that poached the elk… Read more »
Just because there are people who break the rules doesn’t mean law enforcement can bypass the Bill of Rights. There are people who violate laws and I believe there are hunters and law abiding citizens who will turn them in or through hard work law enforcement will catch and punish… Read more »
How did they determine who were anglers and hunters?
you know, camoflage clothing or hats, flannel, chew in the mouth, country music on the radio, balls hanging from the back of the pick-up truck, a Reagan’s Sporting Good sticker on the back window, a ducks unlimited or NRA sticker, calvin peeing on anything, etc etc …..you got a problem… Read more »
I not only had a fishing pole but also a metal detector driving 4×4. Perfect target…..
Or just sight seeing, heading to work or home.
No big deal, unless you’ve got something to hide from Fish & Wildlife. Just a minor inconvenience for our own collective good. A mile south of this checkpoint, CHP is setting one up to test for drunk drivers and ensure vehicle code compliance. No big deal, unless you’ve got something… Read more »
Whatever they do it wont be an INS checkpoint looking for illegals.
IRS checkpoint looking for same sex marriages that filed single.
I would like to know exactly how they are conducting this. What questions are they asking the drivers? Do they have any authority at all to search ice chests for possession limits without the permission of the driver? What would give them probable cause to conduct a search of a… Read more »
From what I recall DFW is the only law enforcment agency that doesn’t need a warrant to search. I won’t fish in California anymore as I don’t want to contribute to the boondoggle of paying to them to raise trout paying them to stock trout paying them for a lic.… Read more »
Tried to warn you! We don’t take kindly to trout rustlers in these parts!
Hope my wife’s not mad about that Cabela’s cap I gave her this morning, she’s late getting home.
IRS has most lenient search and seizure rules.