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Drew Henson
Mrs. Leelee Haraway
English 1123
12 April 2017
Game Wardens and What They Do.
What is a game warden and what exactly do they do? Game wardens are known by
several different names and among those are conservation officers, conservation police, wildlife
enforcement agents, fish wardens, fish and game wardens, rangers, and many more. Their main
job is to enforce the laws pertaining to wildlife and fisheries mainly. (Swan) When most people
think about law enforcement they think about the city cops and sheriffs, but they do not ever
think of the people who protect the wildlife and the environment called game wardens. (Eliason)
Most game wardens have degrees in criminal justice, and are in the job because they want to be
outside during the changing seasons and want to protect the outdoors. (Horst) Game wardens do
not only deal with the protection of the environment and game and fish, they also can arrest you
for driving under the influence and using drugs and being in possession of drugs. Mose stated
that in order to become a game warden you have to undergo a state merit system written exam
and pass a physical exam. (5)
Eliason said that while the jobs of an urban police officer and a rural police officer differ
they do have one thing in common, they have one thing in common. It is a very dangerous and
sometimes a very deadly one, a little more so for a game warden because of the fact that they are
often alone, in a rural area, and the people that they are often dealing with are equipped with
several guns. (196, 197) Horst said that one of the most difficult part to being a game warden is
having to do the search and rescue of boating accidents that will sometimes have a happy ending,
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but after a certain amount of time has passed it hits them that they are no longer doing a search
and rescue they are trying to just recover a body. (125) Horst also stated that there it will be hard
to find a game warden who does not take his job for the safety seriously, and will write a ticket
for the absence of a life jacket and operating a boat while under the intoxication of any illegal
substances and alcohol. (126) In the “Wild Situations” article it says that game wardens can also
confiscate your vehichle if it is used illeagally and can also arrest you for driving under the
influence. (1) In the “Sinking Vessels” article it gives us some examples of what game wardens
do when they are out on a boat patrol. They can issue tickets for fishing without a licsense and
can also arrest you when out on the water if you are doing illegal activities. (1)
According to Eliason, there has been many more studies on the urban police than the
rural police and game wardens. (196) Although game wardens jobs were traditionally to protect
