WDFW Oral Board

[RUKidding]

Has anyone been through there process? I got the letter and it says it's an all day event; Oral, pre-poly questionnaire, written psych eval, etc.

Not sure what to expect, I've done the oral board before for other agencies but never for an agency like this where natural resources is part of the job.

Anyone have any tips, WDFW suggests review some of their licensing manuals and reviewing there web page.

[Bartlett2850]

I Havent attained my 4 year degree yet, so I havent been in the process with WDFW. BUT, I am friends with a SGT(helped him out with nabbing a group of poachers). From what he said, read the pamphlets and get familiar with the hunting and fishing laws. I'm guessing that they wont specifically talk about fish/hunt laws for the entire oral board, but I dont know for sure. I would call the WDFW office and ask for a couple of ride alongs to get familiar with how they police. Game wardens are a breed of their own.

[RUKidding]

Thanks Wildlife97, lots of good information. I have a ride along in the morning with an Officer Klein(spelling?) out of Olympia. I'll pick his brain the best I can, get his opinion of the agency.

I have mostly done fishing in my life, mostly lakes, grew up in King County so not much hunting. I do have family members who are very active hunters who get tags for Montana annualy and fish year round.

I did read the report on WDFW website from the IACP about the staffing and current issues at the department, hopefully command staff is working on bettering some of those issues?

I did hear another rumor that the DNR officers might possibly be absorbed into WDFW, and I heard that DNR and WDFW might be absorbed in to WSP; any truth to these that you hear?

[GreenLine]

While being a hunter or fisherman will certainly help you understand the law better, you do not have to BE one in order to be a game warden. I know many WDFW officers and game wardens in other states who are not and never were hunters or fishermen. It's more about desire than knowledge, and the agency is going to teach you what they want you to know about hunting and fishing, anyway.

Like I said, there IS an advantage to be had in knowing the law. For example, game wardens who happen to be waterfowl hunters usually have an advantage straight out of the academy in catching waterfowl violators when compared than someone who has never hunted waterfowl before. However, as you learn the job, the gap between what a non-hunter and a hunter knows about that job will narrow considerably.

One of the best game wardens I ever knew was a military officer who had absolutely NO hunting or fishing experience, having grown up in suburban NY.

What you absolutely DO need to have is a love for the outdoors, a willingness to protect the resource, ethics, and an understanding that there has to be balance: natural resources can be legally taken/harvested, but within the parameters set by the law (ethics intertwines with that on other levels, too, as you'll discover).

As previously mentioned, you'll likely take risks and make sacrifices that many LEO's won't have to make, simply because they have a better infrastructure and can support one another better. You won't know it at the time because you'll be having so much fun (), but the risks will be there, nevertheless. You also need to be someone who can work without supervision and get the job done, not needing to have someone either crack the whip to make you work OR hold your hand and guide you in what to do (except at first, of course).

So, self-starter, motivated, ethical, and a desire to protect natural resources. Basically all you need.

Good luck.

[montanahogrider]

Some of the counties have been "deputizing" the DNR officer's to help fill in the gap of legal authority. I know Lewis County Washington has "deputized" two DNR officers so that they can have full law enforcement authority in Lewis County. Sheriff Mansfield mention's this on his Lewis County Sheriff home page.