A few trophies | OSP
For a man whose professional life once involved keeping people on the straight and narrow, a former Oregon Department of Corrections officer found himself on the other side of the law and is now set to pay the price for it. In a strong example of stellar wildlife enforcement, 48-year-old Christopher George Matson just got hit with a lifetime hunting ban and over $114,000 in fines for what can only be described as a prolific, multi-year poaching operation.
Turns out the real recidivism problem wasn’t inside the prison walls.
Our case kicked off back in 2024 after Oregon State Police started receiving tips indicating that Matson was helping himself to Oregon’s big game with something less than ethical enthusiasm. Following some good police work, investigators were then able to execute a search warrant in February 2025, seizing multiple big game animals and firearms as evidence.
“In February 2025, OSP served a search warrant, and multiple big game animals and firearms were seized as evidence. Sixty-seven criminal charges were referred for prosecution,” officials said. “The charges spanned multiple counties.”
These criminal charges included unlawful take and possession of black bear (with the aid of bait), unlawful take of deer and elk, tag violations, and several firearms-related offenses including a side order of illegal short-barreled rifle and silencer possession.
Confiscated weapons | OSP
The Oregon Department of Justice’s Wildlife Anti-Poaching Resource Prosecutor handled the case and has since handed down sentencing for both cases over the past two weeks. On June 18th, Matson was in Grant County Circuit Court where he pleaded guilty to four counts of unlawful take of buck deer and three counts of unlawful take of black bear. He was sentenced to 18 months of probation, 300 hours of community service, lifetime hunting license revocation, forfeiture of firearms and seized property, and a $52,500 fine payable to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
His second case was held over in Umatilla County Circuit Court 11 days later on June 29th, where he pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a short-barreled rifle, unlawful possession of a silencer, unlawful possession of multiple wildlife, and unlawful take of mule deer. He received 24 months of probation, an additional 300 hours of community service (to run concurrently), a lifetime hunting revocation, forfeiture of seized property, and a $62,000 fine.
Total damage ended up well north of $114,000, plus the permanent scarlet “P” (for poacher) on his hunting record. This case now serves as one of the higher single-offender wildlife damage tallies in recent Oregon memory.
“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,” said DOJ Wildlife Anti-Poaching Resource Prosecutor Jay Hall.
OSP gave a hat tip to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife for helping on the backend, and public tips made it all possible — the usual formula that actually works when people bother to pick up the phone.
