Wildlife Ranch Scout Training Notes
Rules are constant and apply to all humans and critters alike, be careless or stupid and end up hurt, crippled, or dead. Nice thing about being my own editor is that I generally have my work approved for publication.
Following writing exercise materials are based on field experiences, and sections of class “Art and Ethics of Surveillance”. I have been certified to teach to private sector investigators by State of Texas. Additional reference materials can be reviewed at Marshall’s Law Townhall Entry # 020 “Conservative Environment Standards”.
Random notes:
- Start with selecting ranch scout’s client, which is different than client’s client selection process which is usually limited to profit motives. Ranch scout should inform their client that a mutual probation period will exist both ways. Old adage: bosses money, boss is always right even when boss is not; still working for a fool or someone who knows more than God can get a ranch scout crossing lines that can not always be re-crossed.
- Ranch management should have liability waiver signed by all visitors, hunters/harvesters and others provided access to ranch to keep property owners from being subjected to law suit lottery.
- Ranch scouts best tools are physical condidtion, knowledge, experience, mental abilities, and cameras: personal and fixed remote.
- Letting human or critter predators get behind you; makes funnel frontal defense strategy less efficient. Theory, decreasing this which decreases that is subject matter for another writing exercise.
- Keep all artificial noise to a minimum, can not hear what is going on around you with artificial noise like “golden oldies” or talk radio shows diverting your undivided attention from your work environment, No big deal until you step in a hole or on a rattlesnake which you should have seen or heard doing your work, again artificial noise divides your undivided attention. About only artificial noise I tolerate is radio weather channel updates as weather plays major role in ranch scouting work.
- Learn ranch components subtle differences. For example behavior differences between hardened feral dogs and someone’s pet mutt out partying.
Recreation ranch security guidelines:
1) Prevention through high profile status.
2) Tactics: observe (surveillance) and report (use incident reports and other necessary written, visual, audio equipment).
3) Reduce criminal and civil liability exposure with the following:
- No asking for ID (unless company policy).
- No pretending to be law enforcement.
- No physical detaining (avoids false imprisonment charges).
- No interfering in child custody disputes.
- No arresting (avoids potential kidnapping or false arrest charges due to lack of attention to four arrest criteria and other constitutional requirements).
- No search of person or their private property unless ordered by supervisor (avoid assault and civil rights complaints).
- No abusive language (avoids terrorist threats complaints).
- No interrogations (avoids false terrorist threats complaints).
- No fighting (avoids assault complaints).
- No pursuit chasing on premises (avoids unnecessary potential civil liability injury suits).
- No leaving premises (“assigned and confined rule”).
- No cuffing (avoids improper equipment use civil suits).
- No touching or disturbing evidence (unless necessary to preserve).
- More “no’s” added to list as needed.
4) Have attorney review third party contract relationship between security personnel and customers.
5) Do not violate laws.
6) Report all law breakers to client.
7) Understand client’s policies for customer “careless” and non-sporting behavior (like hunting, guns, and alcohol are never good combination).
8) Do not see or hear what not your business.
9) Necessary force used only for self defense.
10) Let professional law enforcement do their jobs, and assume liability for their jurisdiction and conduct.
Observations: Good resources for addition information are other ranch scouts and security-law newsletters. Also, applying Texas State Board of Investigators and Security Agencies standards’ based on public sector law enforcement to private ranch security can get ranch scouts and their ranch manager or ranch owners sued.
Never forget, ranch scouts are employed to protect ranch owners’ property which in today’s litigious society means keeping them from becoming victims of law suit lottery. Potential law suit predators can include: family members, socialite visitors, employees, hunter or photographer customers, illegal immigrants “passing through”, greenist environmental terrorists getting hurt or having rights violated while engaging in acts of terrorism against property owner.
Moving on to another facet of ranch scouting, first word I learned as child was outside; perhaps start of my devotion to ranch scouting as good way to make a living. Life would be lots simpler, if Leninist socialists were not perpetual human predators constantly threatening inalienable rights including private property.
Anyway life is never fair this author’s favorite place to live and work is South Texas monte environment: brush thicket with only two seasons, hot humid brown and briefly hot humid green. Most of plants are shrub brush with thorns on thorns, best described as big thorns little leaves or little thorns with little leaves. One of few exceptions is area’s only native palm, Sabal, absent thorns.
General ranch scout work includes: ranch security, fence lines and sinderas maintenance, some native plants landscaping, and occasionally re-sealing ponds with bentonite. Security specifically includes keeping rancher’s friends from “borrowing” ranch tools and equipment, protecting ranch property from unwanted trespassers and poachers.
Occasionally managing critter poachers mostly involves old, injured or displaced animals. Efforts are made to identify “right” poacher” by taking plaster paris casts of tracks of offending animal. This policy is consistent with my “avoid and let live” standard which seems to be less and less respected by more and more radical environmentalists. My initial strategy for both kinds of unwanted poachers is to “scare them off”.
Greenism or radical environmentalism is an anti-property rights anti-ethical capitalism, and anti inalienable rights movement based on Marxism, and fascism by using governments to regulate private property until private property though owned by private citizens is controlled by government not private citizens paying property taxes on land they own in name only.
Several years ago, radical environmentalists would cut game fences, trespass with ATV’s minus mufflers to chase game out of area to disrupt animal population control hunts. Guess they thought watching animals suffer from starvation was less cruel than hunting. A separate writing exercise or even entire text could be devoted to managing environmental terrorists who know less about protecting environment then two year old children most environmental terrorists act like.
Getting all writ out again, time to do engage in some of above, perhaps another writing exercise on this subject matter will be submitted for your review and consideration at later date.
