This is one of the silliest episodes of the series. I'm not that familiar, but how serious of a crime is alligator poaching? Wouldn't aggravated kidnapping be 10x worse? Once Barney was caught in the act of poaching, why not just rescue Porter and bring him immediately to shore? Surely he would not have been facing anything more than probation.
Also, if you're going to kidnap Porter, why in the world would you leave him alone and untied? Especially someone as resourceful as the park ranger.
I understand this is a series geared towards children, but most of the episodes have much stronger storylines and are much more believable.