Post by cambygsp on Aug 2, 2005 6:11:24 GMT -5
A Delaware Fish and Game warden may well be one of the unsung heroes of the campaign against terrorism.
According to Reuters, on September 19 the warden was approached by a Pakistani man with a GPS device who wanted maps of the Cedar Swamp Wildlife Area. The Pakistani man said that he wanted to locate deer stands in order to hunt in the area. The warden was immediately suspicious, for the Cedar Swamp Area is right across the Delaware River from the Salem Nuclear Power Plant. So, he notified the FBI. A search of the man's apartment uncovered four rifles and a handgun, as well as an expired visa. The Pakistani was arrested, since it is not lawful for illegal immigrants to possess firearms or have a hunting license. If convicted, he could spend between 1 and 10 years in prison.
Game wardens are probably the least recognized and appreciated members of the law-enforcement community, even though their beat includes the regular laws of peace officers, as well as wildlife law. Their job is risky because in hunting season just about everyone they come in contact with is armed. And, unlike cops, they are often miles from the closest backup.
According to Jack Edwards, the deputy chief of the California Fish and Game Commission, all peace officers start out by going through a similar series of community-college courses on the state penal code and the basics of law enforcement. Then they choose a specialization, with game-warden cadets attending a special academy where they learn wildlife law and enforcement. Those who take the game-warden track know they are choosing a life of independence in the outdoors, but most people are not aware of the sacrifices wardens make.
For one thing, they take a big cut in salary. Game wardens are usually the lowest paid law-enforcement officers. Nationwide, warden salaries range from the under $30,000 to just more than $60,000. A California Fish and Game warden with 24 years of experience makes a yearly salary of $48,000, while a highway patrolman or a state prison guard with the same amount of experience presently makes upwards of $60,000. (Soon, when a new contract goes into effect, these last will make $90,000, while there is presently no hope for an increase in warden salaries.) In some communities, meter maids are better paid than game wardens.
Another challenge for game wardens is the vast amount of space they are responsible for, while operating with a small work force. Given their duties and numbers, it's no wonder that wardens refer to themselves as "The Thin Green Line." There are over half a million local law-enforcement officers in the U.S., 72,000 of them in New York City. Nationwide, there are around 7,000 game wardens-close to the number of New York City police officers assigned to Times Square alone on New Year's Eve. California, with 159,000 square miles of land, 32 million people, and 1,100 miles of coastline, has 406 game- warden positions. California warden Captain Tom Belt told me that right now there are 279 field officers for Fish and Game Commission. In contrast, there are 28,000 California state corrections officers and 8,000 CHP officers.
Unless you hunt and fish, you've probably never seen a game warden. But even hunters and fishermen rarely meet them. In California, the average warden is responsible for 600 square miles, while some have districts up to 10,000 square miles. They set their own hours, often doing patrols according to nature's patterns, following tides, migrations, and seasons rather than a regular 8-5 schedule. Their unusual hours often place them on patrol at night in a swamp or wilderness, and very often they work alone. And they are almost always working overtime.
The New Jersey warden was not the only one who joined in the national defense this past fall. After the September 11 terrorist attacks, California Fish and Game wardens began working on antiterrorism patrols, sometimes going on round-the-clock schedules. Deputy Chief Edwards told me that their anti-terrorism work last fall included boarding a suspicious boat carrying Phillipinos that was running at night without lights near San Diego. The purpose of that boating excursion remains unknown.
Game wardens deserve a better shake. They do important work, protecting nature and nature-lovers, sportsmen, and our nation. In many rural communities they are legendary figures who set ethical standards for woods conduct and save lives because of their backwoods savvy. We ought to know more about them. Fortunately, their service has not gone completely unnoticed. The books of California warden Terry Hodges - Sworn to Protect, Tough Customers, and Sabertooth - all available through Amazon.com, give readers real- life stories of game-warden bravery. Writer C. J. Box's new novel, Open Season, places Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett in the middle of an exciting murder mystery. Warner Brothers has recently bought film rights to this engrossing mystery, with production by Bruce Wills's Cheyenne Enterprises.
Law enforcement is not just about catching and punishing people for committing crimes. The best law enforcement seeks to prevent crime by setting and preserving community standards of behavior that do not tolerate criminal activity. Unfortunately, the appearance of a peace officer often creates fear, but the California Fish and Game Commission started a program to change this: Game wardens would issue citations for good acts as well as bad. Sportsmen who received "Caught Doing Good" citations for outstanding ethical behavior became eligible for a special season-end drawing for valuable prizes. This program has fallen by the wayside due to lack of funding.
Couple the removal of positive reinforcements with fewer wardens in the field and one could easily conclude that the game warden is as endangered a species as some of the critters they protect. By James A. Swan, "Media Watch" columnist for North American Hunter magazine 1 |
According to Reuters, on September 19 the warden was approached by a Pakistani man with a GPS device who wanted maps of the Cedar Swamp Wildlife Area. The Pakistani man said that he wanted to locate deer stands in order to hunt in the area. The warden was immediately suspicious, for the Cedar Swamp Area is right across the Delaware River from the Salem Nuclear Power Plant. So, he notified the FBI. A search of the man's apartment uncovered four rifles and a handgun, as well as an expired visa. The Pakistani was arrested, since it is not lawful for illegal immigrants to possess firearms or have a hunting license. If convicted, he could spend between 1 and 10 years in prison.
Game wardens are probably the least recognized and appreciated members of the law-enforcement community, even though their beat includes the regular laws of peace officers, as well as wildlife law. Their job is risky because in hunting season just about everyone they come in contact with is armed. And, unlike cops, they are often miles from the closest backup.
According to Jack Edwards, the deputy chief of the California Fish and Game Commission, all peace officers start out by going through a similar series of community-college courses on the state penal code and the basics of law enforcement. Then they choose a specialization, with game-warden cadets attending a special academy where they learn wildlife law and enforcement. Those who take the game-warden track know they are choosing a life of independence in the outdoors, but most people are not aware of the sacrifices wardens make.
For one thing, they take a big cut in salary. Game wardens are usually the lowest paid law-enforcement officers. Nationwide, warden salaries range from the under $30,000 to just more than $60,000. A California Fish and Game warden with 24 years of experience makes a yearly salary of $48,000, while a highway patrolman or a state prison guard with the same amount of experience presently makes upwards of $60,000. (Soon, when a new contract goes into effect, these last will make $90,000, while there is presently no hope for an increase in warden salaries.) In some communities, meter maids are better paid than game wardens.
Another challenge for game wardens is the vast amount of space they are responsible for, while operating with a small work force. Given their duties and numbers, it's no wonder that wardens refer to themselves as "The Thin Green Line." There are over half a million local law-enforcement officers in the U.S., 72,000 of them in New York City. Nationwide, there are around 7,000 game wardens-close to the number of New York City police officers assigned to Times Square alone on New Year's Eve. California, with 159,000 square miles of land, 32 million people, and 1,100 miles of coastline, has 406 game- warden positions. California warden Captain Tom Belt told me that right now there are 279 field officers for Fish and Game Commission. In contrast, there are 28,000 California state corrections officers and 8,000 CHP officers.
Unless you hunt and fish, you've probably never seen a game warden. But even hunters and fishermen rarely meet them. In California, the average warden is responsible for 600 square miles, while some have districts up to 10,000 square miles. They set their own hours, often doing patrols according to nature's patterns, following tides, migrations, and seasons rather than a regular 8-5 schedule. Their unusual hours often place them on patrol at night in a swamp or wilderness, and very often they work alone. And they are almost always working overtime.
The New Jersey warden was not the only one who joined in the national defense this past fall. After the September 11 terrorist attacks, California Fish and Game wardens began working on antiterrorism patrols, sometimes going on round-the-clock schedules. Deputy Chief Edwards told me that their anti-terrorism work last fall included boarding a suspicious boat carrying Phillipinos that was running at night without lights near San Diego. The purpose of that boating excursion remains unknown.
Game wardens deserve a better shake. They do important work, protecting nature and nature-lovers, sportsmen, and our nation. In many rural communities they are legendary figures who set ethical standards for woods conduct and save lives because of their backwoods savvy. We ought to know more about them. Fortunately, their service has not gone completely unnoticed. The books of California warden Terry Hodges - Sworn to Protect, Tough Customers, and Sabertooth - all available through Amazon.com, give readers real- life stories of game-warden bravery. Writer C. J. Box's new novel, Open Season, places Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett in the middle of an exciting murder mystery. Warner Brothers has recently bought film rights to this engrossing mystery, with production by Bruce Wills's Cheyenne Enterprises.
Law enforcement is not just about catching and punishing people for committing crimes. The best law enforcement seeks to prevent crime by setting and preserving community standards of behavior that do not tolerate criminal activity. Unfortunately, the appearance of a peace officer often creates fear, but the California Fish and Game Commission started a program to change this: Game wardens would issue citations for good acts as well as bad. Sportsmen who received "Caught Doing Good" citations for outstanding ethical behavior became eligible for a special season-end drawing for valuable prizes. This program has fallen by the wayside due to lack of funding.
Couple the removal of positive reinforcements with fewer wardens in the field and one could easily conclude that the game warden is as endangered a species as some of the critters they protect. By James A. Swan, "Media Watch" columnist for North American Hunter magazine 1 |
