The ones that I know are nice guys and do the best that they can. I only wish that we could afford to get 2 per county here. I get so sick and tired of all the poaching and typical BS going on. For the most part if you have an issue with a warden around here, then you are probably the issue. Just stick to the rules and they'll leave you alone.

I have met some real good wardens over the years and in different states. Most are severely overworked, however.

I recall one warden in SD saying he got over 150 complaint calls from duck hunter issues my noon on opening day of duck hunting. How does one guy ever start to unravel that mess? Then I hear guys stating their warden does nothing when someone steals their crappy trap from under a bridge.

I never ask them to do anything...just give them the info and wish them luck in the Triage.

Some have done great things for us trappers....Some I have met and appreciate them.

i live on a county line. my warden differ depending on my direction.
both wardens i run into are trappers.
i am tight with one. he calls me for help, i call him for help.
the other, last time i ran into him, he never asked to see my license or trap tags. just talked for 45 min.

no complaints with the regular guys.

i did have a guy from another county try and give me a hard time.
i was called back by my warden friend and he apologised for his behaviour.

We have trouble with the young ones. They seem to be more aggressive and not believing in people.
The ones that have been around for awhile know more people and are a little more laid back.

Over the years we have had some good ones but lately not so good. Go by the mantra "Guilty until proven innocent"

busy today,tryed to talk him out of the giant buck he had on the back.gentleman turned around quick when he saw me and stopped to shake my hand and say hey.then jumped back in and headedout as he had a long list of calls.have had issues with the other younger warden but it's a job and i hope he figures out soon i could be a help to him.

Are you talking about Bill R.?

He dropped an illegally killed and confiscated bear off at a friends once. The friend had me help him hang it up but darned if I could get him to part with some backstrap!

He did have me over for some bear roast later.

yepper

Bill seems like a fair guy, a stickler for the letter of the law but fair about it. I've had several good interactions with him.

Had some traps stole and he recovered them and hand delivered them back to me. I called in a complaint on some road hunters once and he knew who they were and confronted them. A camp member buys, sells and trades guns with him. He just seems like a good guy.

I heard he got transferred to another area and there is anothor WCO for his old area?

NO COMMENT!!!
They might be watching.

Taking notes.

Never admit to anything.

Always listen, never talk

Remember...loose lips sink ships.

Our wardens here in PA have always been good to me, from the time I was a little kid until present day, 40-some years after I started hunting legally (we started at age 8 where I grew up, and the local warden knew it and did nothing). In fact, despite having met wardens on the job and in the woods over the years, I had yet to be checked my entire life until a few years ago. First week of rifle season, I heard shooting up the hill and thinking it was a poacher, I flew up the mountain. I was ready to rip someone apart. Turned out it was our new warden, who I had given permission to hunt in this steep, rugged, laurel-infested area. I was so happy for him and changed my tune from aggressively PO'd to practically hugging the guy. He shot a nice buck with his classic single-shot rifle, and he asked me to take a picture of him with it. "Not until you check my license," I responded, and he did. A minute later he asked if he could use one of the twist-ties in my license holder, as he had forgotten his and could not otherwise attach his tag to the buck's ear. We have since then developed a very good working relationship, though I have been critical of him a few times, because in his effort to be a nice guy, he has let some pretty bad guys off when they were totally busted doing really bad stuff. Guys who had their licenses revoked, and upon getting their license back were immediately caught with untagged bucks taken off of posted private property they had no business being on. That kind of stuff. The warden was trying to educate and help these guys, but some people are just dedicated, hardcore lawbreakers, and no matter what, they will kill as much wildlife as they can, whether they are entitled to it or not. One of the guys he busted several times was a regular trespasser on us, and is now headed to court for no orange, hunting at night, loaded gun, trespassing this past season. Same guy with an untagged buck three years ago. And they are going to revoke his license again. Now we have stronger laws, and if he goes back to unlicensed hunting, and gets caught, he will end up in prison. So the moral of this story is, sometimes those "nice" wardens are actually encouraging the real bad guys by not holding them accountable. On the other hand, this particular guy has never been accused of handing out warnings and citations for BS stuff, and he is very pleasant and friendly to everyone he meets.

Our warden thinks everyone is a criminal....the last warden was very good but got fired because he moved 1 mile outside the county into a house that he could afford to buy for his family. He now is in enforcement for USDA.

Ran into the new warden (4 years now) in the state park office a few months ago, he was wearing an outer tactical body armor vest that had two ar-15 mag holders on it....with mags in them.

That is not a good sign, Marty. That guy will be trouble. One of the challenges all US DNR police are facing is the large number of ex-military guys they are hiring. They approach the job as aggressive combat vets, instead of natural resource managers. Best uniform DNR police can have is a shirt with their patch and badge, jeans, a straw hat, and a friendly attitude.

Ive seen our State warden twice in 3 yrs here and have yet to see our Fed warden on the refuge. She may get her trousers dusty.

I dont care what kind of gun they carry. Could be a belt fed m60 and it wouldnt bother me. I expect to be treated politely and with respect though . Only warden I ever had a problem with was in CO.

Have met several in Wyoming at the fishing hole and they are always pleasant to visit with.

I hear rumors that the Georgia Wardens are tough especially in the Southeastern part of the state

In theory Danny, sure, but a natural resource officer toting a belt-fed M60 or ballistic armor with loaded AR15 mags is not really prepared for speaking politely and respectfully with hunters, trappers, and fishermen. Rather, he is making a very public statement about being prepared for war, for shooting a lot of bullets at the people he expects to interact with most. It is an aggressive statement about his own expectations and is not a good sign.

I know one here in Ga that is excellent and about two hundred that are really good guys.