The Bigfoot Disclosure Project

The Bigfoot Disclosure Project is dedicated to revealing government knowledge of the Bigfoot phenomena. The below listed documents show a connection between government agencies, citizen witnesses and Bigfoot.

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On September 2, 2011 an article appeared online in USnews.com. The article displayed the below listed memo (Dated, 1959) regarding the manner that the US State Department instructed our embassy in Katmandu in regards to the biped. The memo does show that our government took the topic seriously and gave the mebassy specific direction, an interesting revelation.

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SRU Lake, Oregon

According to a bigfoot website, late in 2009 a group of individuals, Dale Saxton (Bigfoot Researcher), Sam Cartwright (government tracker) and Julie Walton (Biologist) went on snowmobiles into Sru Lake, Oregon to conduct research on a possible bigfoot. This was initiated because of vandalism supposedly committed at the lake. The implication was that the degree and magnitude of the vandalism was such that a human could not have done it.

Comment from the biologist “Julie” from the bigfoot ballyhoo site-
“The late Dale Saxton and volunteers found tree destruction all over the mountain. Some was as high up as 16 feet. This creature is believed by all to be extremely dangerous to people." These are serious considerations and allegations...

"Julie" Continues"

"As a biologist I know a little about moody animals. This one is more like total rage than anger. There has been much talk about people trying to get into the area to get a picture of this thing. This is crazy thinking. I simply can't discuss why I know this, but believe me when I say your in danger if you try this. Powers RD will close this lake because we cannot guarantee safety there. A regional supervisor will make the closure this week.”

Question- If "Julie" was involved in this incident, and she is concerned as much as she states, why doesn't she go public in the same way Mr. Saxton did? Unfortunately Mr. Saxton is no longer with us, but where is Julie? If Julie gave the DOI her opinion on the demeanor of the bigfoot, as she did on the site, is the USFS negligent on not taking a more disciplined stance on this issue?

It was comments such as this that caused NABS to take the topic seriously and initiate action to release documents associated with activity at this lake. This supposedly started in the summer of 2009 when the Hamilton family was vacationing at the lake and a family member had an encounter with a bigfoot. This was supposedly reported to USFS personnel. Sfter this event there was additional vandalism at the lake, serious vandalism.

Based on knowing the names of the researchers going into the lake, knowing the names of the family involved in the incident and the dates of the supposed incidents, NABS filed a FOIA on the Powers Ranger District for all documents related to:
The Hamilton Family incident
The research trip into the lake in the middle of winter (Saxton/Walton/Cartwright)
Medical reports emanating from the research trip.
All reports of extreme vandalism at the lake.
All reports of bigfoot activity in the area.

In March of 2010 NABS received our first response from the USFS/DOI in regards to our FOIA. They essentially denied everything. They denied the research project every occurred, they denied that a family reported a bigfoot event, they denied ever having bigfoot reports filed, they even denied there was snow at the lake during the time the research project would’ve taken place.

NABS appealed. This was a lengthy time consuming proces with te results as follows.

Below is the response to our appeal which we received in the mail today. The letter was lengthy and was reduced in size to fit into our page.

This is truly a unique ending to a very interesting story. Unfortunately Dale Saxton died shortly after this event due to cancer, our sympathy goes out to his family.

There are only two possibilities.

Did these events ever happen? We think the answer is blatantly obvious.

Is the DOI and the USFS and Carl Linderman blatantly making false statements? Who is giving these officials their marching orders?

The concern to NABS is that neither Julie or the tracker supposedly work for the government (They are contractors and there are laws against retaliating for whistle blowing), thus there is no issue for them in their jobs moving forward, being interviewed by the press and stating their case. It seems it would be prudent and honorable for public safety to be interviewed by a press team and make their concerns widely known. Julie has already made public statements on the site about the incident, the government knows she is talking, maybe it is time to take an aggressive stance and let the powers to be know that they cannot lie....

NABS would like to recogniz the fine work of researcher Bill Emery for his continued and ongoing efforts in the field in OR. Bill is doing the work that many claim to do, but don't. Going into the field is the backbone of good research and Mr. Emery has continued to put in the hours. We believe that he has insight to the biped that many do not.

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife

In March of 2010 NABS was contacted by a fellow researcher and notified that the State of Washington has a law that requires public disclosure of documents held by the state, most states don’t have such a law. The Washington law mimics the Freedom of Information Act that governs U.S. government documents. The researcher asked if NABS would file a FOIA request against the Washington Department of Fish and Game for documents related to bigfoot, sasquatch and wild man. NABS did file the request.

On April 12 NABS received their first response from Washington. We were notified in the first letter that there may be additional documents held by the enforcement branch and they were attempting to retrieve those. The following list and summary represents what we retrieved from Washington Fish and Game.

1. Letter to NABS from Washington Fish and Game Dated 4/12/10 and a second letter dated 4/23/10.

2. Email from Skip Frombach to Dr. Briggs Hall explaining a possible bigfoot research site.

3. Email sent to Skip Frombach from Mike Day advising him that no research funds were available.

4. Email advising that the employees in the Department of Fish and Game have no reported sightings of bigfoot, dated 4/14/08.

5. Letter from Robert Campos to the Washington State Governor asking for the establishment of a task force to conduct an expedition.

6. The front page of “The Bigfoot Casebook” with an attached map of California presumably outlining sightings and tracks. It's unclear why this was in the packet.

7. Letter to George Tsukamoto from Jeff Meldrum, dated 1/16/01 on Idaho State Letterhead. He isn’t happy with the information he was provided by the department, a Campos document. He asks for more in depth information on how their department handles sightings, etc. NABS spoke to the Fish and Game and found that George Tsukamoto has since retired and they do not possess the letter that he sent to Mr. Meldrum. Mr. Meldrum then sent the department a copy of his poster a theories associated with the Midtarsal break and his report “The Science of Sasquatch” by Meldrum and Greenwell.

8. Email from enforcement agent Carl Klein stating that he has received a few calls regarding bigfoot but does not have any records.

9. Email from enforcement agent Troy McCormick stating that we should contact the Lummi Tribe and he describes behavior that has been explained to him.

10. Email from enforcement agent Alan Baird. He goes into detail about a sighting on Chinook Pass. He is adamant that he didn’t file a report on the incident but he did keep good notes. The names and numbers of the witnesses are included. This is a good report and an example that this enforcement agent to the call seriously.

Possible Impersonation of an Oregon Law Enforcement Officer March 11, 2010

Curry County, Oregon

We must admit that the world of bigfoot has many, many unusual twists and turns with few easy answers. Why this field attracts some of the oddest stories is truly baffling.

Two months ago an Oregon based bigfoot website received an email from an individual that appeared to possibly be a Curry County Deputy Sheriff (Gold Beach, OR). He went into great deal describing an incident that supposedly occurred on 12/14/09 on the Chetco River. The person stated that they were on patrol and were dispatched to a call on a Forest Service Road near Pairsoll Peak on the South Fork of the Chetco River. They stated that they arrived at 1422 hours after receiving a cell phone call from a group of loggers indicating they had seen a large unknown species of animal looking over the side of the bridge.

The individual stated that a report was taken and they walked across the bridge and looked for signs of the animal. This is the next statement in the email, “There it was, a blackish hairy animal of immense size standing upright looking straight at me from the riverbank.” The writer states that their service weapon was drawn and they fired one round in the air to stop the forward advance of the animal. They called it an “ape-like” animal. They further stated that they had to see a, “goof ball shrink before going back to work.” They also stated that they had to respond to Gold Beach to report what happened.

Ok, that’s a pretty tantalizing piece of writing to go without an investigation. In the worlds that we come from any discharge of a firearm by a possible law enforcement officer is BIG NEWS. NABS contacted the Curry Pilot newspaper, reporter Chad Snyder. Chad did follow up and was told by a Lt. with the Curry Sheriff’s department that this never happened. We appreciated Chad’s fine work and we let the story die, but, the supposed deputy wrote again and this time he started to make allegations. They also stated that they were going to appear on CNN and let the world know what happened.

The people inside NABS are resourceful and know how to get to the heart of an investigation. We do know that if any police officer/deputy is going to be forced to see a psychologist (as this person claimed), their association is going to be involved for legal representation, so, we called the Curry County Sheriff’s department and asked to speak to their association/ union representative.

We were placed in contact with Deputy Joel Hensley. We explained the intimate story that was on the website and the associated allegations of a possible deputy firing their weapon and their supposed order to see a shrink. Deputy Hensley stated that he has been the union steward for Curry County Sheriff’s for quite awhile and he has never heard of this. He stated that if any deputy fired their weapon on duty, there would be an extensive investigation. He also stated that he would be notified and assist the accused deputy in legal representation. He stated that he has never been called about an incident such as this but he would gladly assist us to get to the bottom of it.
**Note- Union representatives for police officers/deputy's are “one of the guys”. They will always side with the police officer/ deputy, they are under no legal obligation to back their department, they are 100% in the deputy’s corner. If this incident occurred, deputy Hensley would want to inform us of the details and save the deputy the embarrassment of going to a psychologist! The deputy was extremely professional and offered all the assistance he could legally extend. Deputy Hensley also informed NABS that it is against their department policy to discharge a firearm into the air as that is reckless discharge of a firearm, you don't know where the bulet will land!

Deputy Hensley did put us in contact with Michael Brace. Michael is the County administrator in charge of their 911 System. All calls for service for the Curry County Sheriff’s Office go through Michael’s office. NABS made a formal written request for all documents, transmission tapes, etc, related to this incident and in this time frame. Within a short period of time Michael did respond to our request. He stated that he had reviewed all calls for service on that districts radio channel and associated dispatch log and there were no calls for service into that area at the time period. He further stated that they did not have a deputy named “Cory”, as the subject identified himself in a communication. Michael stated that I could gladly speak with the undersheriff about the incident as the undersheriff would like to know more specifics about the incident.

Approximately 30 minutes after speaking to Michael, Curry County Undersheriff Bob Rector called. Sheriff Rector stated he had personally reviewed all of the documents that Mr. Brace had forwarded and nothing was close to matching the allegations of a shooting by a deputy on the date in question. He stated that IF one of his deputies had discharged their firearm, he would be one of the first people to know. He flatly stated that this was a complete hoax and he would gladly put it in writing, below is the email from Sheriff Rector:

Re: Your Request for Copies of Public Records dated 03/11/2010

Dear Mr. Paulides,

As we discussed on the phone, I am writing this e-mail at your request to debunk a rumor that there was a Curry County Sheriff’s Deputy involved in a shooting incident with a “Bigfoot” creature on December 4, 2009. No such incident ever occurred.

I also received your faxed request for copies of CAD (dispatch record) printouts for all dispatched patrol calls for the date/time period in question, 12/04/09 between 1300-1500 hours. In that request, you asked to receive any information regarding a possible incident at the 24-mile post on a forest service road near South Bridge on the Chetco River, where a Deputy would have been dispatched at the request of a logging crew regarding a suspicious animal that was bothering the crew, and that the Deputy supposedly confronted the animal and discharged his firearm during the confrontation. The dispatch records of all patrol activity in the Curry County (excepting Brookings Police Department, which has its own dispatch center) during that time period amount to nine (9) CADs that were created during that time frame, none of which contained anything remotely similar to the information you described and requested. I have copies of those CADs and am prepared to ship them to you once we receive the required administrative processing fees. Additionally, we have audio recordings of our dispatch activity and we can also make those available upon request and receipt of required administrative processing fees.

After receiving your request I telephoned you and we discussed the request. You told me that you were investigating what you believed might be a reported sighting of “Bigfoot”. You also told me that the information that is the basis of your investigation came via e-mail by someone claiming to be a Curry County Sheriff’s Deputy who reported in the e-mail that he was the Deputy in question and that he was involved in a shooting incident that day and that he (the supposed Deputy) was subsequently placed on administrative leave and forced to undergo psychiatric evaluation. Again, this information is untrue. None of our Deputies were involved in any such incident.

Finally, I would request that you forward to me any information that you have that might shed light on the reporter of this information. We would very much like to make contact with this person. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you should require additional information.

Undersheriff Bob Rector

Curry County Sheriff's Office

PO Box 681, Gold Beach , OR 97444
___________ _______________ _______________ ____________

The conversation that the sheriff had with NABS after our initial conversation centered on the possible crime that is taking place within the context of the allegation, impersonation of a law enforcement officer. He stated that his department was going to accumulate the correspondence on the website of the alleged incident, determine if a crime was committed and then pursue the perpetrator. The Sheriff knows that every computer has a personal IP address (like a fingerprint) and it is easy to track down the originator of the email. No, the perpetrator can do nothing now to conceal their crime, the roadmap is there!

Let’s make the results of this investigation perfectly clear. The Curry Pilot Newspaper conducted an investigation and found that this incident never occurred. The Deputy Sheriff’s Union of Curry County states that they have never heard of this incident. The Curry County emergency dispatch center (different then the sheriff’s office) states they never dispatched a deputy to the location on the date in question and has never heard of a deputy firing their weapon at a purported bigfoot. Finally, the undersheriff himself flatly states that this incident never occurred. This case is not closed. Curry County needs to investigate the incident, determine if a crime happened and if this is a hoax, prosecute the hoaxer of this information! If this incident did happen and it didn't involve a police officer or deputy sheriff then the individual needs to make that clear to the public, webmaster and readers. We should clearly state, the headline on one of the writer's blogs states "Curry Deputy has this sighting to tell us about, " and "Curry Deputy has followup on his sighting," thus the inquiry to the Curry County Sheriff's Department seems to be logical?...

NABS took on this investigation to find the reporting party who had impeccable credentials to be a witness, a law enforcement officer. If they were being harassed unlawfully by their department for making an observation of a biped then NABS would step in and assist with their legal defense. We believe that people who observe the biped should not be persecuted, threatened or harassed. People throughout the blog have claimed that this individual is in law enforcement, thus the inquiry to the agency that had jurisdiction for that area was made.

Update: March 12, 2010

NABS received another email from Undersheriff Bob Rector from Curry County. He stated that he had further reviewed CAD logs for 12/4/09 and 12/14/09 during the time frames outlined and there was nothing that remotely matched a shooting on the Chetco River area. He did explain that his agency also dispatches for the USFS and he stated that there was never a shooting in the area indicated by the USFS. He explained that he reviewed the entries last night made on the Oregon website by the individual claiming a shooting and stated that he was obviously fabricating the event. Sheriff Rector clealry stated that if there was a shooting in his county by ANY law enforcment officer, he would know about it. He also stated that in years past lumber companies had spoken to his office about certain personnel carrying firearms but at this point that was not a practice. Sheriff Rector stated that his office wanted to make it perfectly clear that there never was a shooting on the Chetco during this time frame from a law enforcment officer in Curry County and the entries on the Oregon website are pure fabrication. One final note, the sheriff did state that while he was reading the writers entry on the website one major spelling error by the writer caught his eye. He stated that any law enforcement officer who had lived in Curry County knows the spelling of Carpenterville, not the spelling by the writer "Carpenderville".

March 4, 2010

Oregon License Suspension- Additional Information

NABS Executive Director David Paulides has continued to try to develop credible informaton on the Oregon License Suspension issue. People continue to claim that their driving privileges are being suspended when they report a bigfoot sighting to a police officer or sheriff. Paulides wrote an email to Sheriff Gil Gilbertson (Picture on the right) of the Josephine County Sheriff's Department in oregon. He requested information about the practice and inquired if it was true. The response from Sheriff Gilbertson is below.

If you have been a victim of an unlawful license suspension we encourage you to contact Sheriff Gilbertson, give him the name of the person whose license was suspended and allow him to investigate the matter. You don't need to identify yourself, just the name of the individual that is the victim of this practice. As of today, nobody has come forward with a name. If you wish to be completely anonymous, send an email to NABS with the specifics on the individual and NABS will act as the intermediary. Here is Sheriff Gilbertson's response and contact information;

3/4/10, "Gil Gilbertson"

David,

I'm surprised at your claims that individual's driver licenses are at risk for reporting a BigFoot. If anyone from this County has such a claim please refer them to me so that I can personally look into their claim.

Secondly, I would be thrilled to find a BigFoot living within my County.

Regards,

Gil

February 26, 2010

During the last several weeks there has been a series of emails that have been sent to a bigfoot blog site stating that Oregon Drivers Licenses are being suspended when citizens report a bigfoot sighting to a police officer. It has been claimed that some people observe a bigfoot and report the sighting to a deputy sheriff or local police officer. The claims on the blog site state that the law enforcement official believes the person is fabricating or seeing something that isn't there and writes a report to the Oregon Department of Motor Vehicles for a re-evaluation of the drivers status. There have been numerous reports of this on the site. NABS first wrote about this on our Blog site.

NABS read about the practice of supposedly suspending licenses and proactively contacted the Public Information Officer for the Oregon DMV, David House. NABS was told by Mr. House that this is not a practice of Oregon DMV but that he would investigate and find the truth. He called NABS later in the day and advised us that he had spoken with each of the evaluators that receive request for re-evaluation from police officers and they HAD NEVER seen a bigfoot sighting as a justification for license suspension or re-evaluation, this was approximately 2 weeks ago.

NABS took the information that we received from Mr. House and forwarded it to the owner of the site that was receiving the complaints. There was an immediate outcry from the bloggers that NABS was fabricating, they hadn't talked to DMV, we were liars, etc. We gave Mr. House's name and number to the owner of the site and asked them to call and evaluate our investigation, they didn't. The reports of license suspensions continue to filter into that site, so, we asked Oregon DMV for a written letter explaining their own investigation, see below:

The cornerstone to NABS is truth, honesty and integrity. We cannot confirm that Oregon DMV is telling the truth but we can state with absolute confidence that what we first reported about this story is consistent with what Mr. House wrote to us today.

NABS has requested anyone who has been a victim of a license suspension based on a bigfoot sighting to contact us, we will investigate and gladly refer the case to Mr. House for comment. This request was posted 2 weeks ago on that site and NOBODY has given us a name, date or incident report number to cross confirm that this practice is occuring. Yes, the allegations continue on the site but nobody is willing to give up identifying information to corroborate their stories.

The final statement about this investigation is that this will remain an urban myth until a victim of this practice steps forward and allows their case to be publisized and investigated. If these claims are true, we truly wish the victims would come forward as NABS would be their #1 advocate.

In David Paulides' book, The Hoopa Project, he lists various documents that show that our government has knowledge of the existence of Bigfoot. On page 17 Paulides writes about the 1975 Washington Environmental Atlas authored by the Army Corps of Engineers. In that document the Corps states;

"Alleged Sasquatch hair samples inspected by FBI laboratories resulted in the conclusion that no such hair exists on any human or presently known animal for which data is available."

In 1976 Peter Byrne was leading his own Bigfoot research group and authored a letter to the FBI inquiring about the hair report noted in the Washington Atlas. Below is the original letter from the FBI to Peter Byrne.

The reason NABS has included this document in this section will shortly be obvious. We want our readers to understnd that this document does not represent a denial by the FBI that they examined the noted hairs or that a specific report does not exist. Retired agents from the FBI are friends of NABS and have been showed this document. They have confirmed that the agency routinely writes these types of letters to imply to the inquirer that they have searched and there are no documents, but, the reality is in the wording, "We have been unable to locate any references to such examinations in our files." This does not say;

1. We have not examined the reported hairs.

2. We do not have reports on file indicating the results of the hair.

3. The Army Corps of Engineers are mistaken, we never did receive or examine any associated hairs.

NABS has investigated many Bigfoot related incidents since our formation. Many of these investigations have included statements by witnesses that they were interviewed by FBI Agents on Bigfoot related incidents. NABS has consistently filed FOIA requests as a part of our investigations attempting to understand why the FBI would have involvement in such incidents. We have been routinely told they cannot find associated files and in each incident we have appealed that decision to a higher level, requesting that the FBI disclose the results of their investigation.

It would appear that the Army Corps opf Engineers would never author a government sponsored document, proof read and cleared by multi layers of their administration without subsequent documentation to back their claims. It does appear that the FBI did have these hairs, did conduct laboratory analysis and refuses to release their results. Why NABS will take such a definitive stand on this point will be disclosed in the coming weeks or months.

The following report was written by a member of the National Park Service from the Olympic National Park, Anderson Meadow in Washington. The report outlines a Bigfoot sighting with some good detail. This report was written in 1993. Any idea that that the National Park Service does not have Bigfoot sightings reported to them is erroneous.

The below listed Maryland Sheriff's report discusses an incident from 2000. The deputy does make an observation of a creature and doesn't seem too sure about what he observed.

This Department of the Interior document was discovered by NABS. It can be found as of today at the U.S. Department of the Interior website. It is a very interesting document in that it talks about known cryto studies and specifically addresses Bigfoot. The letter also notes the the Army Corps of Engineers document that lists Bigfoot on an official publication, something that NABS specifically identifies and examines in "The Hoopa Project."

Nabs thinks it's interesting that a special note is included in this document about the method that creatures are added to the endangered species list. The criteria listed states (Page 3 of document);

How big is the population?

Does it occur anywhere else?

Is the population in danger of decline?

Is its habitat secure?

Is the species being exploited?

Nabs would like visitors to contemplate these questions and relate it to where Bigfoot sightings have been made. The answers to most of these questions may be easy..

Oroville Bigfoot Sightings, The 1960's

During the 1960's there was a rash of Bigfoot sightings in the region of Northern California near Oroville. The sightings were near Oroville Reservoir and in the Butte County area. This region of Northern California can be very dry during summer months but the reservoir offers an unlimited water supply for area mammals. NABS has investigated this area intensely with the intent of understanding why the bipeds were in the area and why there was a blimp of sightings at this point in history. It is an unusual circumstance that there have been huge forest fires in this are in the last two summers that would've greatly reduced any opportunities to view the bipeds.

It should be noted that the region where this report was taken is in the same region where ISHI was discovered in the early 1900's. Read the report carefully and understand that communication flow in the 1960's was not as it is today, specifics about sightings were not so readily available thus the information in this report reflects a factual representation of what the witness observed.

Butte County Sheriff's office

This is the original report from 1969 filed by Deputy Curtis.

On 7/12/69 Deputy Hoke wrote a followup report to Deputy Jackson. There are several aspects to these reports that NABS finds very interesting. The scream that the witness heard the night before the sighting, the scream of what they believed to be a woman is quite consistant with reports from others throughout the United States. The portion of the report that addresses the witness burning rabbit entrals is also quite consistant with witnesses describing Bigfoot as being quite interested in rabbits. There are many documented cases where rabbits are taken from their locked cages, a location where whatever took the rabbits must've had fingers to work the lock. The witnesses is an individual that is accustomed to the outdoor environment and was positive that what he obsevred WAS NOT a bear.

NABS has never seen this report anywhere and we believe that we are the first group to have discovered this investigation by a California Sheriff's Department.

NABS would like to graciously thank Sheriff Perry Reniff from Butte County for his cooperation in digging through his archives and finding this report, it is greatly appreciated.

The California Department of Fish & Game

The Bigfoot Interview

The following interview was conducted on 12/08/08 at the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) headquarters in Sacramento, CA. NABS had heard that the state maintained a file on Bigfoot and we wanted to determine if this was true. After several phone calls, we were able to speak to the individual that was the contact person regarding the file, Eric Loft, Chief of the Wildlife Branch. Chief Loft gave NABS complete access to the file, allowed us to copy its contents and then gave our Executive Director, David Paulides an extensive interview regarding the DFG's position on Bigfoot and his personal background with the biped. What follows is the first ever interview with a Chief from DFG and their background with Bigfoot. Refer to the second section of this page for details on the file and what it contains.

The interview;

Questions- Eric Loft, Chief, Wildlife Branch, California DFG

1. How long have you been employed by California Department of Fish and Game?
A- 20 Years

What is your educational background? A- Ph.D., Ecology , University of California, Davis
What is your role? A- Researcher and Manager

2. How many times have you been interviewed on Bigfoot related issues?
A- None, I came here in 1988 and people before me have been interviewed but not me.

What did you specifically do to prepare for this meeting?
A- I reviewed your groups website. I also called Mike Carion who is the enforcement’s Asst. Chief in Redding and asked him if he had any files on Bigfoot.

Did Chief Carion have any files on Bigfoot?
A- No

3. How long have you been aware that there is a Bigfoot file in the DFG?
A- 10 years

Who maintains the file?
A- Our Office of Communications, Education, and Outreach

Who inside of DFG has access to the file?
A- Anyone

Who initiated the file?
A non-game program in the 1970’s

4. What is your personal experience with Bigfoot?
A- I’ve heard strange things in the woods that can’t easily be explained. I’ve read books on the topic from the 1970’s.

5. Does the DFG have;
Photos of Bigfoot? A- Unknown
Hair of Bigfoot? A- Unknown
Tissue of Bigfoot? A- Unknown
Body of Bigfoot? A- Unknown, but, on each of these issues I’m not positive that we don’t. Sometimes samples are submitted by the enforcement branch to their lab for forensic tests on poaching cases, and we don’t hear about the results. I do have a lab that’s under me in Rancho Cordova but they primarily research disease in animals, etc. I believe the US Fish and Wildlife lab in Oregon does extensive DNA testing and anything that might be submitted by our enforcement branch could go there for any DNA work if the forensics unit cannot work it.

6. Has the DFG ever assisted a federal agency in any type of Bigfoot investigation?
A- The enforcement branch of DFG would do this type of investigation and I’m not aware of anything we’ve done along those lines.

7. Does your agency classify Bigfoot as an animal?
A- No, we classify it is a phenomena

8. How many DFG employees have personally reported seeing a Bigfoot?
A- None, that I’m aware.

9. How many reports from citizens do you or DFG have taken that have stated they’ve seen a Bigfoot or had a Bigfoot encounter?
A- Just the ones in the file.

10. What policy or dictate does DFG have for field personnel regarding Bigfoot and the handling of Bigfoot related issues.
A- None, but, there was a policy proposed for public requests to obtain a Scientific Collecting Permit that is in the file that you are going to copy. The policy was never implemented but it was documented and placed in the file.

11. Does the DFG have an internal name for Bigfoot/ Sasquatch or Wild Man?
A- No

12. What would be DFG’s response if a field Warden found a Bigfoot body in the woods?
A- I’ll assume we’d first try to determine of it was animal or human and base the response accordingly. If it was determined to be human, the county coroner in that area would have jurisdiction. We only have jurisdiction if it is a known animal that we recognize in the state of California, if it isn’t, we don’t have jurisdiction. If it isn’t an animal described in the Fish and Game Code or in regulations set by the Fish and Game Commission, then we likely have little jurisdiction.

13. How many books have you read on Bigfoot?
A- Earlier in my life I had read a few. The topic was interesting and I tried to keep an open mind.

14. Prior to arriving as the person in charge of Bigfoot issues for DFG, who had that job?
A. Nobody specifically, we had the mentality of “who wants to respond to the guy calling /writing about Bigfoot?”.

15. How many times have you been contacted regarding Bigfoot related questions or issues, internally or outside DFG?
A. Just this one.

16. Who briefed you about the meeting today?
A. The administrative assistant for the Director. I didn’t talk to the director about it but she (The Admin) told me about you and I did look at your groups website.

17. Are you aware of any forensic testing being initiated or completed by DFG on any Bigfoot blood, tissue, hair or scat?
A. No, but hair samples from our studies that we cannot identify go to a lab we contract with in Montana. Our enforcement division would normally handle any issues along the lines of your question as it relates to forensic testing.

18. Does any state or federal agency to your knowledge possess a Bigfoot body?
A- No

19. How many meetings have you had with other state or federal agencies where the topic of Bigfoot was discussed?
A- None

20. To your knowledge, has there ever been a recovery of large human type bones that were DNA tested by any state agency that came back as human, but, were much larger then any normal human?
A- No

21. What was removed from this file prior to our meeting?
A- Nothing that I am aware.

Is there a secondary or private file on Bigfoot that is maintained by DFG?
A- Not that I am aware. Double-checked with OCEO and with our database managers. No one is aware of any additional information that the Department has regarding Bigfoot.

22. Was there anything that you were instructed not to discuss with me at this meeting?
A- No

23. Did DFG conduct an investigation on me or my group in preparation for this meeting?
A- No

24. Who is your counterpart on Bigfoot related issues in the federal sector?
A- You would probably need to go to the BLM on some issues and on others you should go to the US Forest service office on Mare Island in Vallejo.

25. Have many field investigations been conducted by Wardens on Bigfoot related issues?
A- None that I know about.

26. How often do you field questions from Wardens or other DFG employees regarding Bigfoot?
A- Never

27. How often does DFG have staff camp in the woods on special projects?
A- This occurs quite often during the summer months. Some of these people are in the woods for up to 2 weeks on special studies.

Have you ever had one of these field personnel contact you regarding a possible Bigfoot incident?
A- No

28. How many game track cameras does DFG possess?
A- We probably have many dozen but they are owned by the study group inside DFG that is conducting that specific research. There is not one central point that possess the cameras and later loans them out. They are spread throughout our agency.

Have you ever seen a game track photo that could possibly be related to Bigfoot?
A- No

29. Are you aware of any state or federal agency that has ever studied the Patterson- Gimlin film from 1967 in Bluff Creek?
A- No

NABS would like to thank Eric for his time and allowing this interview!!

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California Department of Fish & Game/ The Bigfoot File Contents

The focus of this section will be the contents of the DFG file. DFG allowed us to copy each page in the binder. What follows is a list of the documents in the order they were inside the file:

1. DFG routing slip (47 Names).
2. Photo and short article on the PG film, dated 1/11/99
3. Sacramento Union article, 5/14/78, titled “Soviets Positive Bigfoot Exists”
4. Memorandum, From Ron Jurek (DFG), Title “Proposed Procedures for Processing Permit Applications to take “Bigfoot” and for Responding to Requests for Information”, 3 Pages, **NABS will further discuss this memo later in the story.
5. Record Searchlight Article, “Bigfoot Reported in Trinity County, 5/20/99
6. LA Times (No Date) “Bigfoot really was a fake says family of man who created it”
7. Letter from US Expedition and Exploration Society to Ms. Lorna Bernard, Wildlife Division, Dated 11/17/97, contents discuss the writers inability to get to Sacramento to obtain copies of file and requests they be sent.
8. Herald and News, Klamath Falls, Oregon, article- “Bigfoot Search Effort Eyed in Dorris”, 11/7/97.
9. Letter from US Expedition and Exploration Society dated 10/2/97, to Laura Bernard requesting that the name of the group be given to people writing the DFG asking for sighting information.
10. Letter from DFG Director Jacqueline Schafer to US Expeditions dated 11/11/97, states that DFG is writing at the request of an Assembly Member and states that they will keep their letter on file for future reference. The letter also describes the contents of the Bigfoot file.
11. Letter from Tom Woods, California Assemblyman to Jacqueline Schafer, DFG addressing the needs of a constituent, dated 10/16/97
12. Message note not dated to: Howard from Rev Schumacker.
13. Sacramento Bee Article, 11/30/75, “Scientific Opinion Mounts: Bigfoot More Than a Legend”, Photo of Peter Byrne goes with article.
14. Handwritten note from Doug Updike, regarding Ron Badal, regarding a sighting in the Lewiston Area, 5 Individuals observed a biped, 7-8 feet tall, followed people for 3 days. Note also states ”Grizzly in the Trinity Lake Area in 1978”.
15. Copy of article, “Bigfoot: A Bibliography by Patricia Katka, 3 Pages
16. Sacramento Bee Article, 7/11/81, “Bigfoot Hunters Stalk the Woods for Clues to an American Legend”
17. Sacramento Bee Article, “Man Goes in Search of Bigfoot”, By Rob Gold, 8/26/82
18. One page of a multi page letter to Mr. Thompson at DFG and speaks about a mystery animal doing destruction in the forests.
19. A 4 page proposal written by “Christian Bigfoot Project, Proposal for Financing”, for bringing in “a fresh killed body of Bigfoot”. The report has qualifications, Justification for project, Needed equipment with budget ($17,900) and is supported by “Sportsmen for Christ, Carmichael, CA.
20. Article, “I Touched Bigfoot”, no date and no name of where it originated.
21. Article, “Crazed Bigfoot traps Terrified Teens in Remote Wilderness Cabin”, no date, no name of origination.
22. Handwritten letter to “Mr. Fullerton” from “Ernest Sproles” about a scientific research proposal, one page.
23. Sacramento Bee article “Bigfoot Snapshot Claimed”, 5/11/81.
24. Routing Slip for DFG.
25. Letter from Richard Craig to DFG asking for assistance on writing a school paper on Bigfoot.
26. Letter to Rosalie Murillo (Redwood City, CA) from DFG (Gordon Gould) telling the subject that states “your family saw something that none of you can explain.” The letter implies that the family thought they saw a Bigfoot. The letter describing this event is not in the file.
27. Letter from DFG to Lynda Werner (Sacramento, CA) “The DFG feels the existence of Bigfoot is exceedingly unlikely. There is no scientific evidence which supports the existence of this mythical creature. Surely the scientific community and the military have sufficiently sensitive detection equipment to validate reports of Bigfoot. They have not done so, and therefore we cannot recognize Bigfoot as a living animal.” The name of the director that signed this letter cannot be recognized, dated 1/19/81.
28. Letter from DFG director to Ernest Sproules, Carmichael, CA. The contents of this letter mimic the content from above.
29. Article, Sacramento Bee, 5/6/80, “Sasquatch”.
30. Letter from Nick Kroeze, Yuba City, CA to Dept of Fish and Game Howard Leach. Kroeze writes about the proof of Bigfoot existence from he Smithsonian and forwards a photo (not in file) and a copy of the article, also not in file.
31. Letter from DFG to Nick Kroeze explaining the criteria for getting a creature on the endangered species act. Howard Leach from DFG writes, “Unfortunately until this animal is obtained, described and properly identified by the scientific community, we feel we cannot recommend to the fish and game Commission the inclusion of Bigfoot into California’s endangered species listing,” dated 2/21/73.
32. Article, “The Search goes on for Bigfoot”, by Russ Kinne, unknown where article appeared, 4 pages.
33. An unknown newspaper article with an unknown dated, titled, “On the Hot Trail of a Shadowy Giant”, dateline The Dalles, Oregon. Written by David P. Johnson.
34. Sacramento Bee article, Dated 5/16/77, “Bigfoot Sighting, Prints Convince Mounties.” The article talks about a Pacific Stage Line bus east of Mission, British Columbia had its driver and 6 passengers see a Sasquatch cross in front of the bus. The people followed a trail of stink and found some human type prints. The RCMP was called to the scene and believed that something had crossed in front of the bus.
35. One sheet with 2 newspaper articles, “Bigfoot Sighting in British Columbia. Dated 5/16/77, dateline Mission, BC, same story as in line 34. Another article from the Sacramento Bee dated 8/19/76, “Humboldt County Bills Shasta County for Bigfoot Hunt,” the article talks about a woman that is supposedly kidnapped by a Bigfoot.
36. San Francisco Chronicle article, dated 1/7/76, “Stomping on a Bigfoot, page 6 by Julie Smith.
37. San Francisco Chronicle article dated 1/3/76, “Lawyer Thinks it’s Bigfoot.” The article is about a NY attorney who purchased an animal for sideshows, it’s name is Oliver. The attorney thinks that the creature he bought is somehow related to the Bigfoot in North America.
38. California Threatened Species Data Form. Unknown person completed the form and wrote information that depicts a Bigfoot. The information was supplied by, Rev Schumacher, Sacramento, CA, dated 8/22/75. He lists “Destruction of forest habitat by logging operations” as the factors threatening the species. He also states “These people should be given full protection as soon as possible as they are human. I know because I seen them close up several times. They are as human as you and I, just hairy!” There are 3 pages to this document.
39. Newspaper article, unknown paper or date, “Report Seeing Bigfoot in Desolate Area near Yosemite”. The article talks about a pilot and passenger flying over Confidence Ridge north of Yosemite when they observed the brownish colored creature standing erect.
40. Letter addressed to “Mr. Fullerton” at DFG attempts to solicit assistance in killing two Bigfoot. Dated 11/12/80. Signed by Ernest Sproles in Sacramento area.
41. Letter from DFG director to Steve Valencia stating that they are replying at the request of the governor. The letter says that the DFG doesn’t recognize Bigfoot because the scientific community doesn’t. Dated 12/21/73.
42. Unknown newspaper article titled “To City on Columbia River”, by Philip Fradkin. It lists several Bigfoot incidents in Oregon.
43. DFG letter dated 4/23/76 from the State of Oregon, signed by Robert Mace “Deputy Director. The contents “We have checked out the Bigfoot news situation with the Post Office department and find that it is a subsidiary of International Wildlife Conservation Society, Inc. A non-profit educational permit for mailing has been issued through the Portland Post Office. Bigfoot news operates out of The Dalles rather than Dallas as you indicated. Otherwise the address is correct. I didn’t gather any information on money matters but could do so if you needed to know the income and outgo. I hope this helps.”
Written on State of Oregon, Department of Fish and Wildlife, Office of the Director- letterhead.
44. A copy of the Bigfoot news, dated March 1976.
45. A copy of the Bigfoot News, dated 12/75.
46. A copy of the Bigfoot News dated 11/75.
47. A copy of the Bigfoot News dated 2/76.
48. A California Threatened Species Data Form, Dated 6/18/76 and signed by Jon Beckjord, The Society for the Identification and Protection of Bigfoot. One section of the form asks “Numbers, Beckjord writes, “As of 1973, 59 sightings of this primate species have been reported in California.
49. Letter from DFG Howard to Leach to Jon Beckjord telling him he can appear in front of the commission to argue his cause for Bigfoot. The letter states that the DFG is recommending the denial of Bigfoot as a protected species. Dated 8/6/76
50. Letter from Mr. Beckjord to Howard Leach dated 8/5/76 stating that he does want to appear in front of the commission. Beckjord states that a large human skull was found in the Minarets by Dr. RW Denton who forwarded the skull to UCLA who promptly lost it. He said that the size of the cranium indicated it was possibly a Bigfoot. The document is one page.
51. Letter from Ron Jurek to Sergio Ramirez (Redwood City, CA). Ramirez had written requesting info on Bigfoot. Jurek says that there is no scientific basis for Bigfoot and encourages Ramirez to write to the Canadian Wildlife Service for info on Sasquatch, one page.
52. Three page letter written (almost a report) by Rev E. Watts Schumacher. This is a fascinating report!! He states that his first encounter with Bigfoot was in 1916 in Piercy, CA (almost on the Humboldt/Mendocino County line). He states that he was trapping furbearers and found 17 ½ inch tracks, 8 inches wide with toes, within 10’ of a trap. He was ten years old at the time. He said that his brothers often heard someone following them and paralleled them as they walked on trails. In 1925 he states that he was fishing on McCoy Creek in Mendocino County and camped there and found three sets of human type tracks. Later he said he was trying to rustle deer out of the brush when he awoke a red colored Bigfoot from its bed under the same brush. He said that it smelled like a sweaty human but he could see white skin under its reddish hair. Years later he stated that he was hunting in “Low Gap Creek” area when he saw a blonde Bigfoot crawl out of the tree and leave the area on two feet. “The next sighting was in 1953 while I worked for the City of Seatte Power and light company on their RR up the Skagit River. As I approached a talus rock slide I saw steam arising from the rocks (there was some snow on the ground) as I slipped up expecting to see a bear but it was a black haired B.F. curled up sleeping with its back to the crevice opening, it smelled human. That summer I was in a boat fishing on Ross Lake near Ruby Inlet when I saw something swimming across the inlet. I rowed over to see what it was, it was a big brown haired BF, so I got out of there as I did not care to have it hitch a ride in my small boat.” The paper is fascinating and contains many credible aspects of Bigfoot life.
53. Handwritten note from Rev Schumacher to Howard Leach advising him that there was a PBS special to be aired about the Search for the Great Apes., dated 12/28/75.
54. Letter from Tim Roberts (923 W. Watts, El Reno, OK) from Howard Leach telling Roberts to write to the Bigfoot Information Center for info on Bigfoot. The letter that initiated this response is not in the package.
55. Letetr from the National Wildlife Federation, director Louis Clapper, dated 3/19/75. It is addressed to Ron Jurek at DFG and addresses where the money came from for their Bigfoot expedition (restricted grant from a family in Florida). It also states that it has severed all relations with Robert W. Morgan. One page.
56. Letter to Scott Bravard (New Castle, Indiana) telling the subject to write to The Bigfoot Information Project for info on Bigfoot, signed by an unknown DFG director, 2/26/76.
56. State of California Office Memo. The following handwritten notes on are on the memo. The memo doesn’t state who it is from or to: Item 1- “Early Nov, rancher and wife on elk hunt “thing” came around their camp several nights in a row on the Klamath. Crashed through brush around camp 2/3 of way around it., 90-100 yards away. Made noise that was unheard of, slept with gun 3 nights in a row. Item 2- “Castle Crags State Park- Playing large predator call hears brush snapping w/ in 100 yards starts screaming and thrashing jack pines, 1969.” Item 3- “3am, along Walker River rolled off seat of car because something picked up car, 1957 huge car about 4000 pounds, three times. His friends asleep in back seat felt it too, feigned sleep while this “thing” stood at passenger door, breathing and making guttural sound. Walked away sounded like a two-legged animal. Ground too frozen to see prints. Trunk loaded with food was open but undisturbed. Bumper was completely twisted like a towel- how could an animal w/out opposing thumbs do that?” One page no other details.
57. Article, one page, “The Piltdown Man hoax.
58. State of Calif Office Memo. From “Loach, to “Files”. Dated 4/10/77. Subject, Bigfoot Sightings. “Rick Drovin, store keeper, Piercy, reported sighting Bigfoot on April 5-8. Allen Barry at lunch reported going to Piercy and interviewing Drovin, provided tape, sightings were inconclusive, Barry collected hairs and observed footprints, hair given to Oscar Brunolte.” No other details.
59. Letter to Eileen Havington, Damascus, PA stating that Bigfoot is not recognized by science, written by a DFG director, no other details. One page.