Customer Reviews

A Hunt for Justice: The True Story of a Woman Undercover Wildlife Agent

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1 star:		(2)

 

 

Until her retirement in 2004, Lucinda Schroeder was a special agent for the US Fish & Wildlife Service, only the third woman to be hired by the force, and the first woman to do undercover work in the field. But for a long while she was given only small, simple cases to handle, and felt frustrated by the lack of faith her male counterparts seemed to have in her abilities to handle the rigors of the job. Finally, after years of being given disappointing, low-priority cases, Schroeder was assigned to the project this book revolves around, a case that would give her a chance to show her capabilities by bringing down a large-scale poaching operation in the Brooks Range of Alaska, but would at the same time be one of the biggest challenges she had ever faced in her career.

The book opens in 1991. Schroeder, using the pseudonym Jayne Dyer, is working her way into the good graces of the friends of a man named Bob Bowman, long suspected by the Fish & Wildlife Service of using illegal methods to guarantee his clients trophy kills on the hunting charters he runs. It was thought that Bowman was using airplanes to herd animals to his clients, and later Schroeder would discover that he was violating the law in numerous other ways as well, including taking his customers onto the protected Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to hunt. It is not until the season of 1992 that Schroeder is able to get herself booked on one of Bowman's charters. But when she finally does go undercover, it is a harrowing experience. For a week she is figuratively on her own in the Alaskan wilderness with a group of poachers led by a man known to have threatened that if he ever discovered a federal agent in his camp, he would kill them. She must spend this time closely observing everything done by Bowman, his employees, and his clients, so she can later make a full report of any and all violations. She must get as much information as possible without arousing suspicions. And if anything does go wrong - if the poachers somehow discover her true identity before the trip is over - she has no way to contact her fellow agents or get herself out of the camp before her scheduled departure.

Schroeder also brings a very human element to the story. In her work, she must face many personal conflicts of emotion. Her job is to protect wildlife, but she must make illegal kills in order to accomplish this. Moreover, she must present herself as an enthusiastic hunter in order to be convincing to those she is secretly investigating. At the same time, she develops friendships with the wives of a couple of the poachers, working in the kitchen at the main camp, and at times feels the strain of knowing that she will ultimately betray their trust.

The story doesn't end once the undercover work is finished, however. As you can imagine (since obviously she has survived to tell the tale), Schroeder makes it through her the fieldwork part of the investigation, but this isn't the end of the case. For months afterward, Schroeder and her fellow agents must work to compile evidence, collect statements, etc., and thus ensure that they will be able to make their case in a court of law. Only then can they actually move in to arrest the poachers and bring them to trial. Schroeder takes us through this entire process, which is just as interesting as the field work itself. One might think all this would be anti-climactic, but it isn't.

I found "A Hunt for Justice" to be thoroughly riveting, and unlike most other books. It has all the elements of a great undercover detective thriller, and yet it is a true-crime narrative. I could easily see the story being turned into a captivating movie. The writing is excellent - easy to read, and yet vivid and engaging. Schroeder is not only a competent wildlife law enforcement agent, but a gifted writer as well, and she really brings the story to life for the reader. Also included are a selection of black-and-white photographs from the operation, showing some of the huge trophy animals "Jayne" and Bowman's other clients brought down in the Brooks Range. Overall this was a thoroughly enjoyable read, and I can't find a single thing to criticize about the book. Highly recommended.

In the arena of natural resources law enforcement, responsible hunters are considered among the most ardent conservationists. "A Hunt for Justice" exposes the other side of the story, where greed and disregard for the animal overcome the concept of the fair hunt.

Fortunately, the Federal Investigators that protect our wildlife take on the challenge. Schroeder makes it clear that a successful undercover operation is a team effort, and includes the commitment of managers, field agents, and even family members. Her story is told in a matter-of-fact tone, and its message is definitely "Bad guys, beware."

True Crime readers and wildlife enthusiasts will find something special in "A Hunt for Justice."

This was a really good book that I almost couldn't put down once her undercover assignment went "live." It's the story of an undercover wildlife agent setting up a sting on a lucrative and flagrantly unlawful poaching biz in Alaska. The owners corralled bear, rams, moose, caribou and anything else on 4 legs by using Piper Cub planes and GPS systems. It was horrifying to learn about this kind of thing that likely still goes on up there, and the people who live off of the brutality rained down on these poor animals.
The author's account, while a little rough around the edges, is clear and careful; she obviously cares a great deal for wildlife, even though she had to participate in some hunts to nab the nasties in the act.
Her post-script quantifying just how underfunded Fish and Wildlife are now is too sad to consider for too long. If it weren't for the dedication of agents like the ones in this account, we'd likely have an even more decimated wildlife population.

In 1974, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service hired its third female agent, Lucinda Delaney. And unlike the first two women in the agency, she was determined to do more than checking cargo and baggage for smuggled contraband.
And thus began a career in which Delaney, who married biologist Lonnie Schroeder soon after, spent 30 years working undercover, bagging poachers and other hunting scofflaws.
Her fascinating story has been recounted in "A Hunt for Justice."
Schroeder tells of her struggles to be taken seriously in an agency that gives "old boy's network" a really bad name. A degree in criminology and an overwhelming passion for solving mysteries led Schroeder to her chosen career, and a dogged determination--some might say stubbornness--kept her in it for 30 years, despite outright and undisguised sexual discrimination and harassment, administrative roadblocks and hostility.
Today's generation doesn't remember the struggles involved for women in the 1960s and '70 to be taken seriously in formerly "male" occupations. Employers could--and did--discriminate on the basis of sex, motherhood and pure bias; those women who persisted were subjected to verbal and physical harassment. It is a testament to Schroeder's passion and determination to do her job that she not only did it, but was instrumental in bringing down an international poaching ring operating in Alaska.
And this case is the crux of the story. Her struggles in the beginning, building a family and juggling being a wife, mother and field agent are just background for the real story, the undercover "Operation Brooks Range" in 1991.
Poachers at this time could make serious money taking hunters into Alaska for "guaranteed" trophies: moose hunts began at $6,000, sheep and grizzlies cost hunters $7,000; combination hunts were as high as $18,000.
As Schroeder begins her undercover operation, at a hunter's bar called "The Bear Den, she finds out why the costs are so high: " `Wow! Pretty hefty prices,' I said, sliding the brochure and videotape into my oversized black leather purse. `Not when you consider that everything's guaranteed,' (the bartender) replied."
One of the biggest violators was a guide named "Bob Bowman" (Schroeder changed the names to protect privacy). He had "all the elements of a violator--small airplanes, wealthy clients and lots of big game ..."
But with 64,000 licensed guides in 591,000 square miles of wilderness, catching him was almost impossible.
Until Schroeder and an informant wangled their way into a hunt with Bowman by pretending to be hunters in search of big trophies who weren't willing to take the time and hardship to hunt legally.
Operating by word-of-mouth, with clients coming in from Italy, Germany and other foreign countries, staying under the radar and having an almost supernatural ability to sniff out undercover operatives (and allegedly no compunction about "eliminating" them), Bowman's operation had been going on for years, even thought the agency knew he was dirty.
Illegal hunts included using small planes to tire out grizzlies and moose, spotting game and dropping the hunters right on top of them, despite a law forbidding flying and hunting on the same day, and conducting hunts in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Schroeder spent 11 heart-pounding days in Bowman's camp, worried that violators she'd arrested would recognize her, worried her informant might slip and give up their secret, worried the illegal hunters would leave the country with their evidence--and trying to convince herself that the time away from her daughter and husband was worth the stress and fear.
This woman has guts--and smarts. She got on Bowman's good side by translating for his Italian guests, got in with them by speaking their language, worked up a relationship with the wives of the poachers by helping in the kitchen and seeming compassionate, kept the foreign hunters' evidence in the country with a well-told lie, and brought home a terrific piece of evidence in the form of a Dall sheep trophy she shot in ANWR.
Here, Schroeder's overriding reason for taking the risk is seen:
"I hated to kill a magnificent ram like this one for a case, and I wondered for a minute if I was any better than the crooks who killed animals for their own selfish agendas."
Schroeder's agenda should in no way be seen as anti-hunting. As she points out in the Preface, "... I championed ethical and legal hunting. Nothing in this book should be construed as being anti-hunting. My job was to stop illegal hunting and poaching that diminished legal hunting opportunities. I fully acknowledge and respect the tremendous contribution that hunters have made to wildlife conservation worldwide."
This book reads like a thriller, with international intrigue, heart-stopping action and a gutsy heroine who's not afraid to face her adversaries head on--even in a foreign country--in order to make her case.
Schroeder writes well, infusing her prose with imagery and action, making her characters three-dimensional, even the bad guys. She doesn't hesitate to tell of the lengths she'd go to, nor does she gloss over her fears and concerns about her family and her work's effect on them. But her passion for solving crimes and putting criminals away is obvious, and her book makes for a compelling read. I sometimes forgot I was reading a true story, it was so well done.
True crime is a genre one either loves or hates, and I happen to love it. "A Hunt For Justice" goes right up at the top of the list of well-written good reads. If you're not a fan of this genre, read it for the history, for the excellent picture of the struggles women have gone through to be considered equal, or for the damage illegal hunting and poaching does to the wildlife populating.
Whatever your reason, just read the book. You won't be sorry.

As a female looking for a career in wildlife law enforcement this was a great book to read! Lucinda Schroeder did an excelent job writing this true story, it was hard for me to put it down at night. Because Lucinda is a female she had a great advantage over men at catching poatchers in Alaska, and this reminds us all that you don't have to be male to succeed in this line of work. The book was full of excitment, danger, humor and fun. A great read!

I am a nurse and just retired from a career with the California Department of Corrections. I enjoyed reading this book. It was sad to know that we do not do more to protect our wildlife. Murderers start out by killing animals, some as young as 2 or 3. I do believe this lady put her life in danger. It is good to know that we have people like her that take the risk to try and stop this wanton killing.

I've spent more than a decade in this area as a pilot and wilderness guide and have to blow the whistle here.

Despite how enraging it is for outside hunters coming here taking our fish and game illegally, it is equally appalling to see the criminality and incompetence in our federal officials

My hopes for professionalism were dispelled by numerous errors of astonishing degree. The officer, claiming to have studied maps and impressing us with "memorizing" geographical details before going - makes multiple statements demonstrating she does not even know the Brooks Range lies south of, not north of most landmarks identified in the book (e.g. Happy Valley air strip, etc.).

This basic confusion of not even knowing north from south is confirmed elsewhere. For example, fog regularly rolls in from the Beaufort Sea (in the north), not from the south as claimed in the book. But you'd only know that if you had experience here.

The author makes numerous errors throughout such as misnaming tussocks as "pingos" - confusing a 12-inch diameter grassy tuft with mounds of earth covered ice that can be more than a mile in diameter and more than a hundred feet high. People living in cities thousands of miles away can be "snowed" by a poseur like this, but anyone who actually has some experience with the geography and fauna can see this is a shocking degree of ignorance. Like confusing an elephant with a cockroach.

We are led to believe that on the one hand this operation was internationally famous for using airplanes to herd wild animals into the guns of poachers, decimating huge numbers of animals - and yet the investigator needs to commit crimes herself instead of following simple legal protocols in busting the operation - and keep her own crimes secret from the district attorney and supervisors until she has retired and the statute of limitations has expired.

The author justifies lying to the operators (understandable) - but also to her supervisors, to international officials, and to the district attorney. The hypocrisy of the whole campaign is perhaps best summed up on p 265 where she chirps to her supervisor about how she "won't be telling for a long time" how she illegally coerced statements out of foreign clients. Had that been known at the time of the trial then the evidence would not only have been dismissed, but possibly all the charges dropped due to flagrant misconduct.

This officer holds out the sacred "justice to animals" as the rationale for committing crimes herself. What gall to express how her faith in God and her departmental awards (based on her own concealed criminal conduct) justify whatever she does.

If law enforcement officials lie to everyone around them, including supervisors and the U.S. attorneys prosecuting cases, and if they commit crimes themselves - then how much faith are we to place in law enforcement? Remove the sacred "defense of animals" excuse and supplant it with the basic greed for profit in book sales, in personal promotion, in the rapture of exercising raw power over people - and you see what is wrong with the author.

Because she is an admitted criminal, and because she is so appallingly ignorant of basic geography and natural phenomenon for which she poses as an expert - I simply cannot trust the veracity of much this person says. It makes me wonder what lengths this person has gone to in order to obtain convictions of people in pursuit of her own advancement.

Too bad because there are indeed poachers and if the crimes alleged in this book were true, it was completely unnecessary for the author to commit crimes in prosecuting them. There was nothing necessary beyond simply contracting for and then participating in illegal hunts.

Lastly, the pretentiousness of all the melodramatic terms - eg a "harrowing" day of being flown around in the back seat of a plane and eating "hot turkey, gravy, buttered rolls, peach cobbler" - and the "camp hell" with heated wall tents, cots, personal servants and so forth... It was quite off-putting to those of us who have actually spent time in the same place alone and with whatever we carried on our persons to survive for weeks at a time.

You cannot paint everyone else in this camp as a pampered, out of shape slob and the author - receiving the same service - as wonder woman. The b.s. meter, especially in light of all the lying and criminal conduct on the part of the author, is registering "full on". Trying to imbue an interview with a restaurant owner about same-day airborne hunting violations as if it were a back-alley Russian Mafia gangland encounter while also enjoying five course meals at taxpayer expense is ludicrous.

Almost no readers have been to ANWR, so maybe the author can get away with lying and incompetence. Readers won't question federal officials who couldn't mount a snowmobile expedition to the Ivishak camp. But a snowmachine ride at 40 below is nothing to a regular Joe Alaskan.

What bunglers. Should have asked one of the work crews at Prudhoe Bay or Pump Station Two to run out there in place of those weanies. Those workers are outside every day in that stuff, and so am I. We don't give up whimpering like little school girls.

There's more I could go into but the upshot is you have a federal agent who has had to wait until retirement and expiration of statute of limitations to confess to criminal conduct, and who demonstrates extreme lack of competence in basic field skills in her alleged area of expertise while feigning a "toughness" that isn't credible.

Animal justice deserves better than this.

Good book. I am interested in undercover work for all types of venues and this was well written.

Received the book in excellent shape, and at a great price. The book itself has kept me interested and reading throughout.

I was interested in this story because my husband and I had a similar experience while we lived in Alaska. We didn't realize we chose a 'shady' guide (non-reidents HAVE to have a guide). We got stuck in a hunting camp because we refused to hunt in a closed area. Evidently our guide figured we couldn't read a map! We were sooooo scared that a Fish and Game official would find us and we would be in big trouble just because we were in the wrong place! I can totally relate to the circumstances in this story and can tell you that this is a superb telling of events, and not exaggerated for the story sake!! Enjoy, enjoy!!!!