Poachers, Polluters and Politics
A Fishery Officer's Career
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- $19.99
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- $19.99
Publisher Description
Retired fishery officer Randy Nelson’s first love was catching poachers. That obsession, plus a devious mind and enthusiasm for marathon running, spelled big trouble for law-breaking fishermen. Thirty-five years in the field (and stream) netted a gold mine of stories with hair-raising tales of grizzly bear attacks, angry axe-wielding, rock-throwing, shotgun-blasting fishermen and high-speed chases on dirt roads and through bush. Poachers, Polluters and Politics provides a rare glimpse into the lives of DFO officers and the communities in which they live. Here too are stories showing the lighter side of the DFO, like how Nelson honed his “psychic powers,” and recollections of life in a rodent-infested, government-issue trailer—where his wife Lorraine once awoke to find a mouse chewing her hair.
Firm but fair, and always innovative, Randy Nelson usually earned the—often grudging—respect of communities and fishermen he encountered. Whether it meant carving a peephole in a hollow tree or teaching his dog to sniff for salmon, Nelson was constantly scheming up new and tricky ways to catch poachers and polluters, many of them known violent criminals. Nelson spent a career dedicated to protecting BC’s waters and fish population and his passion for his work shines through with every word, drawing the reader into the exciting world of protecting wildlife and prosecuting bad guys.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this enjoyable memoir, author Nelson, a 35-year veteran of the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans, details his adventures catching poachers, busting corporate polluters, and wrangling with bureaucrats. A wildlife officer's job is dangerous but rewarding, and early on Nelson became "addicted to catching poachers." Born on a Saskatchewan farm, he made his first bust at 19 when he charged several men (including an RCMP officer) with catching over the limit in walleye. Thus began a life-long pursuit of wildlife scofflaws that took Nelson to British Columbia. There, he tangled with criminals armed with knives, axes, guns, and explosives and dealt with an endless parade of lowlifes bent on depleting BC's salmon populations. Beyond poachers, Nelson also often encountered corner-cutting industrial polluters who despoiled natural habitat in examples of "corporate arrogance." Adept at the desk as well as in the field, he learned how to deal with bean-counting government managers and worked at building relationships between the First Nations tribes, local and federal agencies, and private interests jockeying for a cut of BC's finite natural resources. Written chronologically as a series of short chapter/vignettes, Nelson's memoir should appeal to anyone even remotely interested in nature and what it takes to preserve it.
