Forensic scientist Karen Rudolph readies a sample for testing.

Wildlife CSI: DNA Forensic Program

The Idaho Fish and Game wildlife forensics program continues to grow and develop.

This past year the forensics lab replaced the old DNA sequencer with a state-of-the-art sequencer, costing approximately $85,000. Funding for the new machine would not have been possible without a grant from Shikar-Safari. The new machine was delivered and set-up this past summer.

Fish and Game forensics scientist Dr. Karen Rudolph has been working to calibrate the new machine and have it ready for the busy hunting season that is upon us.

About two years ago, Idaho Fish and Game initiated a regional investigator program-each region has one investigator dedicated to conducting in-depth wildlife investigations and assisting field officers with detailed investigations they may not otherwise have time for. As a result, there has been an increased work load for Karen and the forensics lab. This past year Rudolph has worked on 27 cases containing 191 individual pieces of evidence. In one particular case, Rudolph was able to identify big game meat in salami that had been sold to investigators. As a result, five search warrants were served resulting in citations for two individuals selling game meat.

Rudolph's position is funded at 3/4 time and funding has been secured for a part-time assistant to help with the day-to-day tasks that take Rudolph away from actual forensics work. We are hoping, in the future, to have Rudolph's position funded as a full-time employee with a half-time assistant. She has maintained her outreach program involving 5th through 8th graders to help solve mock wildlife crimes. The students are involvedfrom the start to end as if they are the forensic scientist. They start by processing the crime scene, collecting evidence, and conduct forensic lab tests. This has been a popular program and one we will continue.

Rudolph also provided officers with basic field forensics kits that provided the necessary tools and equipment for officers to properly collect and preserve evidence. Rudolph, along with a summer intern, developed time-of-death kits for each officer. The kits include an instructional power point program and the necessary tools and equipment to collect the required evidence. Her efforts have placed outstanding tools in the hands of our officers; hopefully making their jobs easier.