Tribes differ on opinion over embattled game warden

By Kevin Woster, Journal staff | Thursday, March 08, 2007

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Wildlife directors for two Indian tribes in South Dakota say they have had years of conflict with federal game warden Bob Prieksat, a controversial law-enforcement agent in Pierre who has been targeted for reassignment by Gov. Mike Rounds.

But outdoor managers for two other tribes say they usually get along with Prieksat, despite some disagreements.

Alvah Quinn, fish and wildlife director for the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate in northeastern South Dakota, said the tribe stopped working with Prieksat several years ago because of the federal agent’s refusal to acknowledge tribal law-enforcement authority over nonmembers. Quinn said Prieksat stopped following a cooperative agreement between the tribe and John Cooper, who preceded Prieksat as three-state supervisory agent for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service law enforcement in Pierre.

Quinn said the arrangement with Cooper affirmed the tribe’s power to require civil penalties from people who aren’t members of the tribe but who violate wildlife laws on tribal land. Law enforcement officers for the state Game, Fish & Parks Department, who were then supervised by Ron Catlin of Pierre, also honored that agreement, Quinn said.

“That all came to an end with Prieksat. He contradicted everything that Cooper had taught us, and everything that Catlin had taught us,” Quinn said. “It was right about then that we refused to work with that federal agent, because of his lack of respect for tribal sovereignty.”

Quinn said Prieksat’s position seemed to contradict directives from his superiors and had a detrimental effect on the tribe’s relationship with GF&P officials.

Officers for the Cheyenne River, Lower Brule and Oglala Sioux tribes continue to work with Prieksat. And directors of the wildlife department for the Lower Brule and Oglala Sioux tribes said Friday that they didn’t have any serious complaints about the agent.

“We hardly make any contact with him. He has an agent in Rapid City,” Glen Gibbons of the Oglala Sioux Parks and Recreation Authority, said. “The work that we do with agent Prieksat has had a relatively good outcome.”

Lower Brule Wildlife, Parks and Recreation Department director Ben Janis said the tribe has disagreements with Prieksat over some issues of enforcement and legal interpretation. But they manage to work things out, Janis said. Prieksat has been helpful in collecting civil penalties against non-members levied by the Lower Brule legal system, Janis said.

“For the most part, that’s worked out,” he said. “Either we’ll call the state in or, if it’s federal, we’ll call in Bob. When they (violators) know they either have to pay the civil penalty or go in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife system, they usually want to go with the tribe.”

On the Cheyenne River reservation, however, officials have long been unhappy with Prieksat’s lack of appreciation for the tribe’s culture and laws, tribal Game, Fish and Parks Department supervisor Dennis Rousseau said Thursday.

The tribe continues to work with Prieksat, even though he shows a limited appreciation for tribal programs and culture, Rousseau said.

“He doesn’t understand the Indian culture at all,” Rousseau said. “I’m sure Mr. Prieksat has his side of the story, too. But for the most part, there have been many voices of displeasure among the tribes in South Dakota and North Dakota with his attitude, and the way he does things.”

Rousseau said there was more cooperation with Cooper, who left his Fish and Wildlife Service position in 1995 to become state Game, Fish & Parks Department secretary. Despite periodic disagreements with the tribe, Cooper showed more respect for its sovereignty and wildlife-management efforts, Rousseau said.

“He worked with the tribes a lot more than this guy here,” Rousseau said.

Rousseau has followed news accounts of a petition drive in Pierre aimed at forcing Fish and Wildlife Service officials to reassign Prieksat. Organizers of the petition drive say they have more than 50 signed complaints against Prieksat, and even more signatures.

Rounds and his top aide, Chief of Staff Rob Skjonsberg, have criticized Prieksat publicly and want him ousted. They say Prieksat has a heavy-handed approach to wildlife law enforcement, bullying hunters and landowners he checks whether or not they have violated laws.

Working with approval from Rounds, Skjonsberg last month issued a “stand-down” order prohibiting state conservation officers from working with Prieksat except in emergency situations approved by GF&P Secretary Jeff Vonk, who replaced Cooper in January.

Prieksat has declined most opportunities to respond to the criticism, saying he prefers to do his job and avoid public exchanges.

Gary Mowad of Denver, who supervises law enforcement for the Fish and Wildlife Service in South Dakota and seven other states, said earlier he had no plans to replace Prieksat, calling him a top-flight agent with a clean service record. But Mowad, who didn’t respond to an interview request Thursday, has also said he wanted to settle the issue with Rounds and others critical of his agent.

Skjonsberg and Rounds said they met with Mowad in 2004, and were assured that Prieksat would be encouraged to modify his style. But that hasn’t occurred, they said.

Skjonsberg said this week that he was encouraged by a conversation with Mowad the previous week and believes the supervisor understands the extent of the unhappiness with Prieksat in South Dakota. Skjonsberg said he expects the signed statements from citizens to make a compelling argument that something must be done.

“I’d be very surprised if they need more incentive,” Skjonsberg said. “But if a meeting with citizens is necessary on their behalf, I'm sure several hundred folks would welcome the opportunity.”

Contact Kevin Woster at 394-8413 or kevin.woster@rapidcityjournal.com