A RECENT New York Times article reminded me of remote fisheries management, Groveton trapper Elias Hopps, and veteran conservation officer (a.k.a. game warden, fish-cop) Arthur Muise of Pittsburg.

People text-messaging while driving are now responsible for several thousand fatalities and hundreds of thousands of accidents a year, the Times said. While 14 states have banned texting while driving, the Governors Highways Safety Association recommends against it but opposes laws because it considers them unenforceable. Safety advocates counter that even laws difficult to enforce can lead to widespread behavioral changes, as has happened with seatbelt use.

The "unenforceable" argument can be used as an excuse to do nothing in many situations, even though to me it is a specious tack. Unless a law is senseless or widely unpopular, most people will obey it even though there's not an officer of the court behind every bush and billboard.

Back when Maine was becoming famous for new thinking in its freshwater fisheries management -- mainly by adopting widely varying and fine-tuned creel numbers, no-kill rules and slot-limits tailored for each individual body of water -- there were clarion calls for New Hampshire to do the same. The answer tended to be that the rule-book would become too complicated, and besides, such fine-tuned rules for often remote, far-flung rivers and ponds would be "unenforceable."

I clipped the article and then had a fine time calling Arthur about it. Like several other wardens I've talked with about this, he scoffed at the "it's unenforceable" argument, because in the end, every single law and regulation can be perceived as unenforceable. All of it, the entire system, whether we're talking about rules of the road or ethics regarding woods and water, relies on trust and the greater public's cooperation, good will, and respect for the resource.

Arthur, justifiably famed for appearing out of nowhere, on a roadless riverbank or far out in the woods, made many a pinch in his career but never lost faith in his constituents. "I'd say that at least 90 percent of the people out there are responsible citizens," he said. I could almost picture him puffing on his pipe.

Well do I remember heading into the wild Phillips Brook country back in the mid-'70s to do a feature on trapper Elias Hopps, who had the longest trap line in the state. We went miles into the valley, first on snowmachines and then on snowshoes.

Elias had just hauled in his second beaver when out of the alders stepped Arthur, badge and all. "Hello boys," he said. "Hello Arthur," we said back, as if encountering him, oh, on the sidewalk.

We sat down on our haunches to visit a bit, and then Arthur was off with a wave, to God knew where, maybe toward the mountain now named for him.

He never even thought of checking Elias's license or his catch, he told me years later, because he knew he didn't have to.

John Harrigan's address: Box 39, Colebrook, N.H. 03576. E-mail: hooligan@ncia.net.