After nearly 30 years of service as a conservation officer in the Elk Valley, Frank Deboon has switched gears and assumed a new position as the District of Sparwood Bylaw Enforcement Officer.
He will be taking over for Art Mortimer, who has now retired.
Deboon says he has big boots to fill.
In June of 1988, Deboon started in the Valley as a conservation officer and looking back, he says the years have treated him well. Additionally, the people he has dealt with have been, for the most part, great to work with.
“People have a lot better attitude towards bears and wildlife than they did before,” he said.
“It used to be that a good bear, is a dead bear. And now, people are a lot more tolerant of them, they’re giving them their space and they’re allowing them to pass through the community.”
One of the biggest changes Deboon has seen since 1988 has been the technology.
“When I started we didn’t have a computer,” he said.
Back then, more time was spent in the field than at the desk.
He says when computers were introduced they did improve a lot, but at the same time drastically changed the responsibilities of a conservation officer. With fewer administration staff, conservation officers are spending less time on the trails discovering violations for themselves.
Most of the calls they receive now are reported through the RAPP (Report All Poachers and Polluters) line.
He says it’s also been nice to witness a big change in the valley, regarding waste management. Deboon remembers when open landfills were stopped, and bears started receding back into the mountains, away from the town. He says too many bears were destroyed during this time.
He’s also seen the fish population boom after the closure of the fishery.
“There’s no need for what’s happened in the past, so people are finally starting to see the message,” he said.
Throughout his many years of service, Deboon chose not to climb the ladder, but rather stay in his position which included field work; something he considers himself good at.
A long-time case which Deboon had been working on for years came to a close last week, in which a Tie Lake man was fined for illegally shooting a deer and black bear. Deboon says it was nice to see this case conclude and end with a splash. Before conservation, Deboon worked in construction. He was motivated by his older brothers’ initiative to return to college, and soon they were all working as conservation officers in the province of B.C. As of 1988, provincials meetings became known as family reunions. Now, he and his brothers are all retired from the service.
“We had 20 years in the CO service where there were three brothers working,” he said.
Deboon says the best part about his job as a conservation officer has been the people, and the wildlife he’s worked with.
“We’ve had a lot of unique experiences working with wildlife,” he said. “I’ve captured golden eagles, taken them to rehab, and released them.”
It wasn’t very often that Deboon would get a chance to work with one of his brothers. But, one year, they worked on a case together which involved catching and releasing three grizzly bears, close to Jaffray.
On the first day, they caught the two cubs. They then caught the sow (mother) in a leg snare on the second day. There were three tires on each side of the trap, and Deboon remembers the grizzly chewing through five of the six tires and flattening them.
“After we loaded her up on the trap we had to get new tires before we could move them,” he said with a laugh.
“There are unique experiences that nobody gets,” he said.
Back in 1991, Deboon assisted the RCMP in a foot chase involving a young man who escaped from the Fernie Courthouse during a trial.
“He ran through alleys, through yards, over fences and things,” said Deboon.
Deboon finally caught up to him, bailed out of his truck, chased him onto a property, and when the young man tried to climb a fence, Deboon grabbed him by the leg and held him until police arrived. When Deboon stood up, he looked around and saw an elderly couple who had been gardening in their yard, aghast at what had just happened.
Asked what prompted the switch in careers, the 61-year-old said that 30 years was enough.
He says this new opportunity in bylaw enforcement is similar to what he has done for years, but will serve as a nice change. He says that he and his wife will remain in Fernie.
“I’ve been here for 30 years, this is home,” he said.
Deboon thanked everyone in the Conservation Officer Service whom he has had the pleasure of working with, and the public for its support over the years.
The department will soon announce Deboon’s replacement.