CO Sutton received a tip that a group of hunters had been hunting out of zone in Bedminster Township. One was the owner of a local sport shop. He conducted interviews of the individuals and was able to obtain confessions from all three hunters involved. Charges included "Register deer killed by another," "Hunting deer during permit shotgun season in wrong management zone," and "Failure to properly tag/register deer."

As reported in last month's highlights, CO McManus caught an individual trapping without a valid trapping license, using 15 untagged snares without proper stops and failing to check traps every 24 hours. Officer McManus apprehended the same individual twenty days later, in the same location, with 11 out of 14 snares untagged and 13 out of 14 snares not having the appropriate stops. During the interview with the trapper it was apparent he never took a snare certification course. He did take a Trapper Education course and felt that he should have been grandfathered in. The trapper received summonses for 11 untagged snares, 13 snares not equipped with stops and for failure to produce a snare certification upon request. Officer McManus advised the trapper to cease the use of snares until he has completed a Division approved snare certification course.

While patrolling Colliers Mills WMA after a recent snow storm, CO McManus encountered 12 individuals taking turns riding a sled that was being towed by an ATV. The operator of the ATV was issued a summons for operating an unregistered ATV on Wildlife Management Area.

CO McManus was patrolling Lake Carasaljo in Lakewood Township and observed two men fishing along the shoreline. The men were sharing a fishing pole. One man cast the pole 17 times and the other cast the fishing pole three times. Officer McManus inspected the men and requested to see their fishing licenses. One of the men told Officer McManus he was not fishing and the other produced last year's fishing license. Both men were issued summonses for fishing without a valid license.

CO Szulecki was patrolling Lake Topanemous in Freehold Township and observed two men fishing from the shoreline. Upon inspecting them, one angler admitted he did not possess a current fishing license, while the other angler advised Officer Szulecki that his wife purchased his fishing license for him but he left it at home. Officer Szulecki advised the anglers to stand by while he checked the ALS system for the one angler's license. Meanwhile the angler was on the phone with his wife. The angler walked over to Officer Szulecki's patrol vehicle and advised him that his wife had not yet purchased his license and apologized. Both individuals received summonses for failing to exhibit a fishing license upon request.

CO Szulecki was investigating a report of someone hunting deer out of season in Turkey Swamp Park in Freehold Township. The park is in DMZ 16 and the winter bow season in that zone ended January 31, 2013. Officer Szulecki found the hunter, who was unable to produce a 2013 bow and arrow hunting license. During the course of the interview, it was apparent to Officer Szulecki that the hunter was fairly inexperienced. The hunter advised Officer Szulecki that he had been hunting for only two years. The hunter received a summons for hunting without a 2013 hunting license and Officer Szulecki explained the zone boundaries to the hunter for future hunts.

CO Riviello and Lt. Lacroix appeared in Millstone Township Municipal Court for the hunting accident that occurred on the Assunpink WMA during the permit shotgun season. The shooter pled guilty to both charges, negligent and careless discharge of a firearm. He paid a total of $1500. in fines and lost his hunting and fishing privileges for five years, with a two year revocation running concurrently with the five.

CO Szalaj received information of illegal hunting/trespassing in Medford Township, Burlington County. A landowner claimed that he had found a fresh gut pile on his property. Several days later, CO Szalaj received a text message from the landowner with a picture of a man with a buck. The landowner claimed he had a picture of this same buck taken by a trail camera on his property. He believed the man in the picture had killed the deer on his posted property. CO Szalaj and CO Kille interviewed the suspect who lived in the southern region. The suspect admitted to shooting the deer on property near the complainants, the deer then ran onto the complainant's property and died. He admitted that he knowingly trespassed onto the posted property to retrieve the deer. A summons for trespassing was issued to the hunter.

CO Mascio observed a group of hunters during the permit shotgun season in a large field in Upper Freehold Township, Monmouth County. He positioned himself so that he could observe the hunters without being seen. As he watched, the group shot at and killed a number of deer. When Officer Mascio approached the group after they were finished with their drive, he observed that none of the deer had been tagged. Five summonses for failing to tag deer immediately upon killing were issued to the hunters.

Conservation Officer Kille responded to a complaint from the South Harrison Police Department in Gloucester County that involved a deer hunter killing a dog early in the day on the last Saturday of permit shotgun season. CO Kille investigated and narrowed it down to a small group of suspects based on information he received and prior knowledge of who hunts the farm. CO's Stites, Trembley and Lt. Risher helped conduct interviews of the hunters that have permission to hunt the farm where the dog died. During an interview conducted by CO Kille and CO Stites, a hunter admitted to killing the pet animal. The hunter provided a written statement to the officers. He was charged with damage to property while hunting and faces five years of license suspension and up to $2000.00 in fines.

Conservation Officer Kille responded to a complaint from a wildlife photographer who observed a hunter enter the woods in camouflage with a shotgun on a Sunday in West Deptford Township, Gloucester County. CO Kille obtained the identity of the hunter and conducted an interview. During the interview the hunter admitted to hunting on Sunday with a firearm for deer. CO Kille charged the hunter for hunting on Sunday.

Conservation Officer's Kille and Fox we were in Monroe Township Court in Gloucester County for an illegal deer hunting case. They settled case, which involved an unlicensed hunter and an untagged deer, for $2000.00 in fines.

Conservation Officer Toppin was investigating a complaint of an illegal deer hunter in Gloucester Township, Camden County when he observed a pickup riding slow onto posted private property. The driver was looking around as he entered the property and CO Toppin observed tires in the bed of the pickup. He conducted a foot patrol and entered the property to find that the truck had been emptied and the driver was placing a second pile of tires from the ground into his truck. During the interview the dumper admitted that he placed the tires from the truck onto the ground at another location on the property. He took the tires for the steel rims to sell as scrap. Gloucester Township Police Department responded to assist CO Toppin. They determined the driver was suspended and also had a warrant out of Camden City on an unrelated charge. CO Toppin charged the dumper under Title 13 for the dumping of solid waste and the Gloucester Township Police charged him with driving while suspended, theft of the tires, criminal trespass and arrested him for the outstanding warrant.

Conservation Officer Toppin gave a presentation to the Washington Township Police Explorers at their monthly meeting.

Conservation Officer's Stites, Trembley and Lt. Risher responded to and investigated a hunting accident in Stow Creek Township in Cumberland County. The hunting accident occurred while hunters were driving deer. The victim was shot in the face with a single pellet of buckshot by his father. The shooter will be charged with negligent discharge of a weapon due to injury to another person and careless discharge for shooting in an unsafe direction. The victim had the pellet removed during a subsequent surgery and is expected to fully recover without any additional complications.

While in Carney's Point Court, Conservation Officer Stites learned of another house shooting and responded to the residence. CO Stites and Lt. Risher interviewed the homeowner and gathered evidence collected by the Carney's Point Police Department. CO Stites, knowing the area and hunters that hunt the adjacent farm, was able to ascertain the time frame and who may have accidently shot the residence. CO's Stites and Trembley interviewed the hunters and determined that a juvenile had shot the victim's house. CO Stites is attempting to have the family and the juvenile hunter entered into a Station House Adjustment with the Division.

Lieutenant Risher gave a presentation to the Pennsgrove/Carney's Point Police Explorers at their monthly meeting and he also gave a presentation to the Salem County Mayoral Association at their monthly meeting which was held in Elmer Borough.

Lieutenant Risher and the Woolwich Township Police Department in Gloucester County are investigating the death of a dog entrapped in a snare. The property is owned by the township and the township does not allow trapping on this tract of land. Interviews of the trapper and witnesses are continuing. A necropsy will be performed on the dog and charges will be pending the results.

Conservation Officer Kille was nominated and selected as New Jersey's Officer of the Year by the National Wildlife Turkey Federation.

Conservation Officer Kille met with the Detective Bureau of the Woolwich Police Department, Gloucester County, after receiving information about an indoor marijuana grow. The Woolwich Police Department executed a search warrant and recovered five plants from the residence, which they will be filing charges for.

Lieutenant Risher was patrolling the Glassboro Wildlife Management Area in the Borough of Glassboro, Gloucester County, after the recent snow storm. He observed a vehicle being operated in a careless manner and proceeded to follow the vehicle tracks to a hidden field off the main road. Lt. Risher stopped the vehicle as it was off-roading in the field. Lt. Risher issued a summons for leaving the established roadway in a WMA.

Lieutenant Risher heard gunshots coming from the closed firearms range in the Winslow Wildlife Management Area in Monroe Township, Gloucester County. Lt. Risher inspected the two sportsmen at the range and located several shotguns and .22 caliber rifles. He also recovered a Glock 9 millimeter handgun that was also being used at the range. Lt. Risher issued a summons for using the handgun unlawfully on the WMA.

Conservation Officer Vazquez received a call from Millville Police that a party was going to take place in the Peaslee Wildlife Management Area, Cumberland County. CO Vazquez and Lt. Ely arrived before dark to cut-off the partygoers. The State Police also arrived and said that they had gotten the same information regarding the party. Shortly after dark, Lt. Ely stopped a vehicle occupied by two young men entering the proposed party area. After some brief questions, a spiked board was found in the back of his truck. It is believed that the board was to be used to thwart entry by law enforcement personnel once the party started. The driver was very nervous and then volunteered that the party was actually a fight between two neighboring towns and it had been moved to the Bevans WMA (also in Millville). CO's Vazquez, Fox and Lt. Ely responded to the new party site and found about 20 individuals between the ages of 18 and 20 standing around a large fire. Of course, no one knew anything about a fight, but the gathering was otherwise unexplained. Summonses for being in a WMA after legal hours and for maintaining a fire on a WMA were issued.

Conservation Officer James investigated two dumping cases this month. In one case in the Estell Manor section of Peaslee Wildlife Management Area, Atlantic County, he found boats that had been dumped in the woods. Through research on hull identification numbers and registrations, he was able to locate and charge 3 individuals with dumping both solid waste and Title 23 dumping charges. In another case in Lawrence Township, Cumberland County, CO James located household trash and furniture dumped on the Cedarville Pond Wildlife Management Area. CO James was able to identify the individuals who were responsible for dumping on the WMA. In both cases, the responsible parties were required to clean up the area as well as pay their penalties associated with the court proceedings.

Conservation Officer James resolved a complaint from the permit bow season in Middle Township, Cape May County. After receiving information about an untagged deer, he arrived at the hunter's residence to ask him a few questions about his deer. It didn't take much discussion with CO James about the discrepancies in the story to elicit a confession. The hunter was very surprised at the extent of CO James' prior knowledge of his violation. Apparently the hunter had been very boastful of his accomplishments and had told too many honest sportsmen about his poaching, which was forwarded to CO James. The hunter was charged with the illegal possession of deer parts, hunting during the permit bow season without a proper permit, taking an antlered deer during the permit bow season without a valid buck stub and for failing to tag or properly check a deer.

At the January region meeting, CO Shannon Martiak gave a comprehensive presentation to the marine region CO's on cold water immersion and survival. The training included hypothermia detection and first aid, cold water immersion survival techniques and ice rescue. Following the presentation, the CO's got into dry suits and immersed themselves in the 37 degree water of the Nacote Creek for a period of ten minutes. The CO's simulated being expelled from the patrol vessel and pulling themselves from the water and back into the vessel.

On 1/20/13, CO Moscatiello was patrolling for striped bass activity along the Atlantic Ocean in the area of Sea Bright. Three fishermen were located just south of Sandy Hook and the CO set up surveillance of these individuals. Within minutes one of the fishermen caught a striped bass, went back to his gear and grabbed a plastic bag and placed the fish in it. Several minutes later this individual caught another fish and placed it into another plastic bag. His friend then went to the fish, lifted his jacket and placed the bags of fish under his shirt. This individual looked around to see who was watching and walked over the dune. CO Moscatiello lost contact with the individual carrying the fish, but knew he was probably parked across the street at the local fish market. When he returned, the CO found a new location that he could see the fisherman and several vehicles in the market parking lot. Within minutes the same individual placed another fish inside his shirt and walked back to the vehicle. This time CO Moscatiello could see him enter a vehicle and sit it in it for several minutes. He then exited and went to the next vehicle over and entered that one as well. After several minutes he walked back to his friends and they began to pack up their gear. CO Moscatiello then concealed himself in the parking lot and conducted an inspection of the individuals when they returned to their vehicles. They stated they had no fish. Upon inspection of a bucket they were carrying, the CO located one undersized striped bass. Once CO Moscatiello confronted the men with his observations, they stated there were three stripers. When CO Moscatiello inspected the first vehicle, he found two more undersized striped bass. As CO Moscatiello attempted to inspect the second vehicle, the men told him that the keys were locked in the car. The CO could see the keys to the vehicle inside the cup holder, and tried all remaining keys without success. The National Park Police were able to assist and unlock the vehicle. Four more undersized striped bass were located under the front seat of the vehicle. CO Moscatiello then lifted the carpeted section of the floor that was covering the spare tire of the vehicle and found seven more undersized striped bass hidden in this area. Two summonses were issued to each individual for over limit striped bass and for possession of undersized striped bass.

>On 1/24/13 CO Moscatiello settled two cases for possession of undersized and over limit striped bass. The first case involved a total of ten undersized stripers and possession of six striped bass over limit. This case was settled for a total of $1,000.00. The second case involved a total of 27 undersized striped bass and possession of 24 striped bass over limit. This case was settled for a total of $2,000.00.

During January and February of 2013 the New Jersey recreational black sea bass fishery was open to a daily possession limit of 15 fish. District 8 Conservation Officers had observed one particular fisherman that consistently embarked on 19 hour offshore black sea bass trips on a party/charter vessel out of Wildwood Crest in Cape May County. The individual was apprehended and found guilty in 2007 for selling black sea bass to non-permitted dealers. On February 2, 2013 District 8 Conservation Officers and a NMFS Special Agent maintained rolling surveillance of the individual fisherman after he returned from an offshore fishing trip. After leaving the vessel's parking lot and driving for approximately one-half hour, the individual was observed entering the rear parking lot of a convenience store in Cumberland County. The individual met up with another fisherman from the vessel and purchased additional fish that he transferred to his vehicle. The individual was then followed to Cherry Hill, NJ in Camden County where officers observed the individual take a 128 quart Igloo cooler into the back door of a restaurant familiar to the officers. An inspection of the restaurant revealed 61 (134.75 lbs.) black sea bass and 8 bluefish. An additional 42 (71.35 lbs.) black sea bass and 14 bluefish were discovered in the individual's vehicle. The individual confessed to the officers that he bought black sea bass from two patrons on the vessel. The individual also claimed to have sold fish to the restaurant on 10 prior occasions since the winter black sea bass season opened. Neither the individual nor the restaurant could produce any records of their transactions. The restaurant did possess a NJ Black Sea Bass Dealer Permit which was obtained in 2007 shortly after being charged and found guilty for purchasing black sea bass from the same individual 6 years ago. Follow up investigations and interviews resulted in apprehensions of the two fishermen that the individual had bought fish from. Additionally, the restaurant possesses NJ Dealer Permits for summer flounder and scup. The restaurant has failed to submit dealer reports as required by law since 2007. Pending summonses include: Selling black sea bass and bluefish without permits; Purchasing black sea bass and bluefish without dealer permits; Failure to maintain accurate records; Possess black sea bass and bluefish over the daily limit; Sell bluefish during the closed season; Purchase bluefish during the closed season; and Failure to submit dealer reports to the Division.

As part of an ongoing investigation of an individual selling black sea bass and bluefish caught and landed from a party/charter fishing vessel in Cape May County, District 8 Conservation Officers discovered that the vessel in question had recently sold 100lbs. of bluefish to a local fish dealer. Party /Charter vessels possessing a Federal permit to commercially harvest bluefish by hook and line when operating under the permit shall not carry passengers for hire and are limited to a crew of five persons. A review of the vessel's fishing vessel trip reports and a copy of the dealer's pack-out slip indicated that the vessel sold bluefish from a for hire trip. Additionally the commercial hook and line bluefish season is only open from June 16th to August 7th. Pending summonses include: Sell hook and line caught bluefish during the closed season; Carry persons for hire when operating under the Federal Permit to sell bluefish; and accept bluefish landed by hook and line during the closed season.

Conservation Officers completed winter firearms qualifications. Retired Deputy Attorney General Bill Zaorski gave the Bureau of Law Enforcement a one-day seminar on the fourth amendment. This workshop on search and seizure helped update the officers to some recent decisions by the courts.

The new Conservation Officer School continued this past month. The new officers completed their classes on Title 23 laws of New Jersey regarding Fish and Wildlife. Other classes completed this month were commercialization of wildlife, search warrants, interviewing, report writing, decoy operations, woodcraft and grappling. The new officers also received lectures from various bureaus and programs in the division to include nongame, permits, deer, upland game, turkey, wildlife control, freshwater fish, information and education, and waterfowl.