No Real Winners in SD Game Warden Flap

By Tony Dean
For the Argus Leader
Published: May 30, 2007


Unless the feds said OK to the demands of Gov. Rounds' chief of staff, South Dakota conservation officers won't be working with federal game wardens until further notice. Even so, I don't think I'd take the chance of going out duck hunting over the next few weeks.

There are no winners in this battle. Governor Rounds played his best hand, but US Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) officials didn't blink, and it's likely that Bob Prieksat will continue as a federal game warden in Pierre.

This rift didn't start overnight. Actually, it's been in the making for several years, and centers around the manner in which Prieksat conducted himself while serving as a game warden.

While Prieksat admitted in an interview with the Rapid City Journal that he was an "aggressive" federal warden, there's a fine line between aggressiveness and unnecessary poor manners. Many hunters in the Pierre area claim Prieksat often crossed that line.

Until very recently, the embattled federal warden didn't defend himself, thus adding fuel to the fire. However, we've been told he was acting under a Justice Department policy that forbade him from participating in interviews.

Yet, he told the Rapid City Journal he believed his pursuit of former Game, Fish & Parks Secretary John Cooper and former Daschle aide Eric Washburn was the reason Gov. Rounds was calling for his scalp.

Cooper hunted elk with Washburn after then Gov. Bill Janklow granted residency to Washburn in thanks for his work on Missouri River legislation. Whether Janklow had that authority is a moot point. Regardless, Prieksat and some South Dakota conservation officers zealously investigated the case.

Is it possible Prieksat looked at Cooper as a "trophy cuff?" What's that? Think Martha Stewart. There is a belief among some in law enforcement that the arrest of high-profile individuals sends a strong message that no one is above the law. However, Cooper had broken no law.

The charges didn't stick anywhere except in Coop's craw. Yes, he was upset about it, and he has no love for Prieksat, who once worked for him. But I believe the feelings are mutual.

When I wrote a positive column regarding Rounds' appointment of Jeff Vonk as Cooper's successor, Prieksat wrote a critical e-mail to the Argus Leader Voices Web site.

I've known Cooper, Washburn and Janklow for years, and I consider it completely out of character for Cooper to knowingly violate a game law. Washburn is also a decent, law abiding sportsman. And Janklow might well have believed he had the power to grant Washburn his residency status. Moreover, the former governor could be very convincing, which is why he was also known as one of the best trial lawyers in South Dakota history.

It might have been poor judgement on the part of Gov. Rounds to force the feds hand the way he did. You can't blame his chief of staff, who serves at the pleasure of the governor. When he speaks on behalf of the governor, he is speaking as the voice of the governor. Nor can you absolve Gary Mowad, Prieksat's supervisor, of guilt. He never appeared very forthcoming and his only public statements were in defense of Prieksat.

You also cannot throw out what appear to be many legitimate claims from hunters about the way they were treated by Prieksat. The federal warden says they all overlooked the fact they were violating the law. However, I've talked to numerous hunters who tell tales of profanity-laced accusations from Prieksat, who weren't ticketed for violations. And even if they broke some laws, where does it say a federal warden has the right to treat them like dirt?

Gov. Rounds is correct in his assumption that even those who violate laws should be accorded a modicum of respect, and Prieksat is a game warden, not a judge and jury.

As for those who suggest Rounds got involved because someone close to him was unfairly treated, I've seen no such evidence.

So, in the end, we are at a stalemate. If he sticks to earlier statements, Gov. Rounds has probably already canceled memorandums of agreement between the state and the feds regarding game law enforcement. Mowad deserves blame too. In such a game of high stakes, he probably should have answered the governor's questions.

The only winner to date is Prieksat, but if his is a victory, it is only by the narrowest of margins. It's probable he'll call Pierre home for quite a while, though it's unlikely he'll ever get the same amount of respect and admiration accorded Cooper. Meanwhile, taxpayer dollars continue to flow into the state, mostly in the form of farm bill payments, at a significantly higher rate than South Dakotans pay into the federal treasury. And while a goodly number of our citizens will cheer at any example of state rights, in most battles, he who has the gold, rules. And you know who that is.

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