When a state requests our assistance, we should be willing to take the LEAD in helping them and showing them the way to do the investigation, not tell them that we can't do it because of the priority system ranking. If you want to know how involved a case can get in other laws and evidence, ask Ken Goddard of the Lab to tell you about seized evidence in an ivory investigation. Ken stated it opened his eyes as what the agents do and work with. We should not turn our backs on this type of investigation. It has a major impact on the resource, but in many ways it has a greater impact on the spirit of the agents involved because the agent can see the benefit and possible outcome of the investigation.
Many supervisors only see the problems, political or otherwise.
We are seeing some very experienced and talented agents leave the Division, not because of the workload, lack of equipment, or money, but because of the political restraints placed on them by supervisors and people up the supervisory chain of command, many who do not have their experience, and many who are not even in law enforcement. The older agents can look back and see the change that has taken place over the last 15 years or so. We may be in more trouble than many want to think. One of the new troops who recently came on stated that he used to think the FWS LE Division was the epitome of wildlife law enforcement. After being exposed to the facts of the job and the political maneuvering, he has decided that it is about the same as many of the states.