Calling all volunteers

The program has been alive for nine or could it be 10 years now? No matter the exact age, it is alive and well and serving the purpose for which it was hatched. The original idea was to salvage any animals, birds or fish enforcement officers confiscate because a hunter or angler illegally obtained them.

In the beginning Fish and Wildlife Enforcement Captain Chris Anderson called and asked me to take a photo of a record walleye.

I drove to the location and there were several walleye in the back of a pickup. The largest weighed over 14 pounds. Anderson told me the fish were not caught, but snagged.

Snagging is an illegal method for taking fish, so Fish and Wildlife officers confiscated the fish. I wanted to clean them and take them to the food bank, but after being out of the water for 14 hours, they were not fit to eat.

Anderson didn't know the food bank was interested in wild birds, fish and game, so I called the food bank for confirmation and found they would, indeed, take all the edible protein they could get their hands on.

Thus I formed the Columbia Basin Meat Salvage Program. Each year I ask for volunteers and several respond. At any one time we have around 25 people ready to help process fish or animals to make the meat edible.

The next step was to check with the health department sure this was OK with them.

In the "Charity Food Donation Guidelines," under the section titled "Uninspected Meat Donations," is written:

"Meat from game animals may be donated to a charitable organization if approved by the local health agency and if donated by a law enforcement officer or a person with a valid hunting license issued by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. A meat cutter approved by the local health agency must process the game meat.

"The meat needs to be labeled: 'UNINSPECTED WILD GAME MEAT, THOROUGHLY COOK TO 165°F INTERNAL TEMPERATURE.'

"Livestock, poultry, or rabbits may be donated alive to a charitable organization if raised by a member of an approved youth club, such as 4H. A meat cutter approved by the local health authority must process the livestock, poultry, or rabbit meat. The meat needs to be labeled: 'UNINSPECTED MEAT, THOROUGHLY COOK TO 165°F INTERNAL TEMPERATURE.'"

The key word is uninspected, as game meat will not be inspected, as is required for beef. This means a Fish and Wildlife enforcement officer who confiscates a deer can donate the animal to a food bank.

Scenario: A group of four hunters shoot three deer. They gut and skin the animals and hang them for three days in a cool place. On the fourth day, they cut and wrap the animals. If one of the hunters has a Food Worker Card, any or all of the meat may be donated to a food bank.

Interesting situation where livestock, poultry and rabbits can be donated alive, but someone needs to process them. Poultry and rabbits can be taken care of by the holder of a Food Worker Card, but cattle need to be inspected.

An example is when a cull cow, a dairy cow no longer producing, is donated alive from a dairy. The animal is taken to a commercial meat processor where it is killed, inspected and processed.

The meat salvage program is loosely organized, but practical and effective. Here's how it works: I maintain a list of volunteers. About this time of year each volunteer is contacted to see if they want to continue helping and to discover their current status.

What is expected of a volunteer? Nothing really, but if available, the person will be asked to skin a deer or breast a duck or clean a few fish.

These volunteers are a varied lot. One might be a construction worker available only on weekends, another might be attending Big Bend Community College and only be available in the evenings and on weekends. A retired person might be available most any day.

A copy of the current list is then sent to Fish and Wildlife enforcement officers and biologists. When an officer has fish, birds or game suitable for the food bank, they begin calling people the list. I'm at the top of the list. If I am not available, they call the second person and so on.

Or sometimes the officer may begin calling at the bottom of the list. This was deemed prudent a few years ago when people near the bottom asked why they never were called.

After finding an available person, Fish and Wildlife either dropped off the animal, birds or fish or ask the person to meet them at a specific location.

The key to this program is to have many volunteers. If there are 10 volunteers, one person may skin many deer or there may be an instance where there isn't a volunteer available, so the deer is wasted. If there are 50 volunteers, no one would be overworked, but, rather, people would be anxious to help. Having two people available to gut and skin a deer makes the work easier.

Some of the deer salvaged come from the main concrete-lined irrigation canals after the water is drained. They become trapped and unable to get out. Before the meat salvage program started, enforcement officers would put the animals down, so they wouldn't starve to death and the meat was wasted. Now the enforcement officer calls a volunteer, the enforcement officer kills the deer and the meat is salvaged.

I will begin calling the current list of volunteers soon. If you are a salvage-program volunteer and haven't heard from me by Oct. 1, give me a call. If you are not on the list, but willing to help with the program, contact me at: Home 762-5158, Cell 750-0541 or e-mail dclay@atnet.net.