Oregon Authorities: Poacher Sentenced for 'Highest Damage' to Wildlife in the State

Published 07/02/26 at 9:55 p.m.
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Umatilla, Oregon) - A sweeping, large-scale poaching investigation by the Oregon State Police Fish and Wildlife Division has ended with major penalties for a Umatilla man accused of illegally taking wildlife across multiple counties. Authorities said he had single-handedly done some of the most significant damage to the state in terms of poaching. - Photos provided to Oregon Coast Beach Connection by OSP

Christopher George Matson, 48, was sentenced in two separate court cases after investigators uncovered a long list of violations involving big game animals, illegal weapons, and fraudulent tagging practices. The combined penalties include up to 24 months of probation, a lifetime revocation of his hunting privileges, 300 hours of community service, forfeiture of all seized firearms and property, and more than $114,000 in fines.

OSP began looking into Matson in 2024 after receiving reports that the former Oregon Department of Corrections officer had been unlawfully killing big game. A search warrant executed in February 2025 turned up multiple illegally taken animals and firearms. In all, 67 criminal charges were referred to prosecutors, ranging from unlawful take of bear and deer to possessing silencers and a short-barreled rifle. The Oregon Department of Justice’s Wildlife Anti-Poaching Resource Prosecutor handled the multi-county case.

Matson pleaded guilty in Grant County on June 18 to several counts involving the unlawful take of buck deer and black bear. He received 18 months probation, lifetime license revocation, community service, forfeiture of property, and a $52,500 fine. Eleven days later, in Umatilla County, he pleaded guilty to additional felony and misdemeanor wildlife and weapons charges, resulting in a separate sentence of 24 months probation and a $62,000 fine.

Oregon Department of Justice Wildlife Anti-Poaching Resource Prosecutor Jay Hall said the damage done was of an unusually high magnitude. In fact, it set a record.

“This is another example of serial poaching which rises to the level of felony conduct based solely on the repeated poaching conduct and impact of one individual on Oregon’s game mammals,” he said. “The conduct across the several counties amounts to one of the highest damage amounts done to Oregon wildlife by any singular actor.”

OSP also credited the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and numerous witnesses for helping investigators piece together the extensive violations.

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