Lifetime hunting ban, $114,000 fine for OR poacher south of Tri-Cities

A former Oregon Department of Corrections officer has been given a lifetime hunting ban and ordered to pay $114,000 in fines in Eastern Oregon cases that included poaching bear and deer.

Christopher George Matson, 48, of Umatilla, Ore., also has been sentenced to 300 hours of community service, forfeiture of guns and other seized property and two years probation.

“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 Jay Hall, the Oregon Department of Justice wildlife anti-poaching resource officer.

“The conduct across the several counties amounts to one of the highest damage amounts done to Oregon wildlife by any singular actor,” he said.

Oregon State Police initially referred 67 charges spanning multiple charges for prosecution in February 2025.

They included unlawful take/possession of a black bear with the aid of bait, falsely applying for a license/tag, unlawful take/possession of buck deer, unlawful take of antlerless elk, loaning/borrowing big game tags, unlawful possession of silencers, unlawful possession of a short-barreled rifle, hunting during prohibited hours, failing to validate a big game tag and unlawful take/possession of a game bird.

Police had seized multiple big game and guns as evidence in 2025 after receiving a tip about Matson in 2024.

Matson pleaded guilty in Umatilla County Circuit Court to felony unlawful possession of a short-barreled rifle; unlawful felony possession of a silencer; felony unlawful taking of a mule deer and misdemeanor unlawful possession of multiple wildlife.

He was sentenced Monday in Umatilla County Circuit Court to a lifetime hunting ban, a $62,000 fine to be paid to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, plus 300 hours community service, two years probation and forfeiture of seized property.

Eleven days earlier he had been sentenced in Grant County Circuit Court on three counts of felony and misdemeanor unlawful take of black bear and four counts of felony and misdemeanor unlawful take of buck deer.

The sentence included a lifetime hunting license ban, 18 months of probation, 300 hours of community service, forfeiture of all property seized and a $52,500 fine payable to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The probation and community service sentences from the two counties will run concurrently.

Umatilla County borders Benton County in Washington and Grant County is just south of Umatilla County. Both Oregon counties are among those that are home to the Blue Mountains.

Both Washington and Oregon are part of the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact that upholds license privilege suspensions in member state.

Washington state Department of Fish and Wildlife assisted the Oregon State Patrol with interviews and evidence collection related to Mason in Washington state.