NO LICENSE: Northwest Arctic Borough Mayor Ross Schaeffer was hunting ducks.

By ALEX deMARBAN
Anchorage Daily News

Published: September 16, 2006
Last Modified: September 16, 2006 at 05:28 AM


A prominent Native leader known for his outspoken stance against poachers has been charged with several game violations himself.


Ross Schaeffer Sr., mayor of the Northwest Arctic Borough, hunted ducks without a license near Kotzebue on Sept. 3, Alaska State Troopers said.

He also had no duck stamps, no plugs to limit shotguns to three rounds, and used lead shot.

"I made a mistake," said Schaeffer, reached at his Kotzebue office on Friday.

Anahma Saito, 31, was hunting with Schaeffer near his cabin by Sadie Creek, seven miles outside of town. She broke the same laws, troopers said.

Elected borough mayor in 2000, Schaeffer demanded more wildlife enforcement after the state removed a year-round game warden last year.

The number of out-of-town hunters flying to the area -- usually to bag a caribou from the enormous Western Arctic herd that migrates south from the Brooks Range every fall -- has increased sharply in recent years, residents say.

The Inupiat town of 3,120 has seen a rise in wasted meat left in Dumpsters, along rivers and in fields, locals say. Many residents, including Schaeffer, blame out-of-town trophy hunters interested only in antlers.

The state responded to the complaints by sending three game wardens to Kotzebue beginning Aug. 30, when the area gets busy with hunters, said Lt. Gary Folger, commander of the wildlife officers in the state's northern region.

During last year's hunt, just one game warden worked the large game unit around Kotzebue.

Now, some residents complain that the enforcement spotlight is shining too brightly on locals, said Sgt. Karl Main, Kotzebue detachment supervisor for the Alaska State Troopers.

Those concerns were expressed at a heated Sept. 7 meeting with local leaders grilling a trooper and wildlife officer.

Schaeffer was not at that meeting, Main said.

"They voiced concern that they didn't intend for local residents to be contacted as much as they have, but we informed them that we don't enforce laws selectively," he said.

Schaeffer said he's already paid his fine.

The charges are noncriminal violations similar to speeding tickets, Folger said. Residents of the rural area have subsistence rights, allowing them to hunt out of season. But they're still required to follow other state and federal laws, no matter whose land they are on, he said.

Schaeffer, 59, said he's glad there's more enforcement.

He said he intended to get a hunting license this year, but he's getting old and "plumb forgot."

He's been stressed out by work and other issues, he said, including the recent conviction of his daughter, Aakatchaq, for criminally negligent homicide in the shooting death of her ex-lover.

Schaeffer, who is stepping down from office next month, said he was probably hunting on land owned by the Native-owned regional corporation for the area, NANA. As for the lead shot, he grabbed the wrong shells, he said.

Lead shot for waterfowl hunting was outlawed across the nation more than a decade ago because it is toxic and has been linked to high lead levels in birds and humans.



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Daily News reporter Alex deMarban can be reached at ademarban@adn.com or 1-907-257-4310.



This would be funny if not so common. I love it when he says he "plumb forgot" to buy a license (9 months into the year)! Apparently so did his hunting partner, and they also forgot to buy duck stamps, that lead shot has been illegal for waterfowl for 20 years, and that his guns can't hold more than 3 rounds. So...in addition to being a hypocrite and criminal we also know he's a liar.

I've had the distinct displeasure of dealing with this human being in the past, and I can say that while his behavior is once again disappointing, it is not surprising at all.

Bob

I have found this to be very true in my 28 plus years of law enforcement.

When I have be assigned to work a area because of complaints from the locals. Normally I catch one or two of the complainers frist. The first thing they say is you should not be picking on the locals.

Oh well what goes around comes around.