Citizens Against Poaching Program
The Idaho program, called CAP (Citizens Against Poaching), was started in December 1980 and received its official charter title in 1981. The organization was established by concerned citizens under the guidance of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. It was patterned after the New Mexico Operation Game Thief program.
CAP is set up and operated as a non-profit corporation with interested sportsmen from around the state serving as regional directors, president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer. There are seven regional directors.
The responsibility for the program is shared by CAP and the Department of Fish and Game. The department receives and records reports of violations through a toll-free telephone number, routes the information to conservation officers for investigation, and arranges for reward payments. We pay a reward if the information is sufficient for a citation or a warrant to be issued. A conviction is not necessary.
The CAP board establishes policies and solicits funds for the program. The Department of Fish and Game has established some procedures for obtaining funds, also. Major fund sources used to date are:
- Donations from concerned individuals, solicited by the CAP corporation.
- Controlled hunt fee check-offs. This has been our major revenue source over the years. Persons who apply for a controlled hunt submit a fee of approximately five dollars with the application. The money is utilized for processing the hunt permits. The fee is retained by the Department except $1.00 may go to CAP as indicated by the hunt applicant.
- Court ordered reimbursements. This is fairly new and hasn't amounted to much yet, but it is growing.
- License sales commission on licenses sold at department offices. There is a $1.50 vendor fee charged on each license sold. When the department is the vendor, the fee is put into a special fund and may be given to CAP or used for special operations. This is a new program just established by our legislature and essentially guarantees the solvency of the reward fund. We put $25,000 into the fund from this source each year.
Our CAP program has been very successful. We have set reward amounts, which are: $100 - birds, fish, and general violations; $250- most big game animals; $500 - trophy species such as sheep, goat, grizzly, moose and caribou.
With approval from the CAP board, we can increase these amounts in special circumstances.
To report wildlife violations in Idaho, call the Citizens Against Poaching Hotline: 1-800-632-5999.