Matson fined $114K, banned for life from hunting following Grant/Umatilla poaching cases
By Logan Bagett on Wednesday, July 1st, 2026 in Columbia Basin News Columbia Basin Top Stories Eastern/Southeast Oregon News Eastern/Southeast Oregon Top Stories
UMATILLA & GRANT COUNTIES – Additional convictions from Umatilla County have been added for Christopher George Matson, 48, who was recently convicted in both Grant and Umatilla County Circuit Courts on multiple poaching violations. Read the full press release from the Oregon State Police below:
(Press Release from Oregon State Police)
The Oregon State Police Fish and Wildlife Division recently concluded a significant investigation with the sentencing of Christopher George Matson (48) of Umatilla. In two separate court cases, Matson was sentenced to 24 months probation, a lifetime hunting license revocation, 300 hours of community service, forfeiture of firearms and property seized, and more than $114,000 in fines.
In 2024, OSP received information that Matson, a former Oregon Department of Corrections Officer, had been illegally taking big game animals. 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, ranging from 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. The charges spanned multiple counties, and the case was handled by the Oregon Department of Justice Wildlife Anti-Poaching Resource Prosecutor.
On June 18, 2026, Matson pleaded guilty in Grant County Circuit Court to four counts of unlawful take of buck deer (felony and misdemeanor), and three counts of unlawful take of black bear (felony and misdemeanor). He was sentenced to 18 months of probation, lifetime hunting license revocation, 300 hours of community service, forfeiture of all firearms and property seized, and a $52,500 fine payable to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
On June 29, 2026, Matson pleaded guilty in Umatilla County Circuit Court to unlawful possession of a short-barreled rifle (felony), unlawful possession of a silencer (felony), unlawful possession of multiple wildlife (misdemeanor), and unlawful take of mule deer (felony). He was sentenced to 24 months of probation, lifetime hunting license revocation, 300 hours of community service (to run concurrently), forfeiture of all property seized, and a $62,000 fine payable to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Oregon Department of Justice Wildlife Anti-Poaching Resource Prosecutor Jay Hall said, “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 continued, “The conduct across the several counties amounts to one of the highest damage amounts done to Oregon wildlife by any singular actor.”
OSP would like to thank the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife for their assistance with interviews and evidence collection across the state of Washington, as well as the many witnesses that came forward to provide information during the course of this investigation.
**OSP photos**
Below is a photo of firearms seized from Matson:
Find previous news coverage in the link below:
