LITTLE ROCK – The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission is accepting applications for its next class of game warden cadets. Applications will be accepted until Sept. 30.
Becoming a game warden is much more than just checking hunting and fishing licenses. Wardens are integral members of the conservation community. In addition to ensuring hunting and fishing regulations are followed, game wardens are often called on to assist with wildlife habitat work and to help make Arkansas’s woods and waters safe for all sorts of outdoor recreation. They respond to calls for help during natural disasters, search-and-rescue efforts and even assist other agencies in manhunts, drug enforcement and other high-profile law enforcement activities. They must be ready at a moment’s notice to dive into the water to save someone from drowning and be willing to spend hours on end during weekends and late nights staking out likely spots to catch poachers in the act.
Applicants must be U.S. citizens who are at least 21 years old. They must have a high school diploma or the equivalent and a valid driver’s license with a good driving record. They must be able to swim, must pass physical, psychological, vision and hearing exams. Thorough background inspections are also conducted before a candidate is admitted into the cadet program.
Game warden applicants come from many backgrounds, including state and local law enforcement and military law enforcement. Many wardens have also come from other backgrounds, such as firemen, EMTs and wildlife biologists because of the skills required in those professions.
If selected, cadets will embark on an 18-week training course at the AGFC’s H.C. “Red” Morris Enforcement Training Center in Mayflower. They will be trained in self-defense, physical fitness, wildlife forensics and law enforcement as well as state law. Upon graduation from the center, each new game warden will be assigned to a duty station for an additional 16 weeks of field training with a superior officer.
Game wardens are assigned their duty station based on the agency’s need, but some accommodations for location can be made if positions are available in the cadet’s preferred hometown.
“As positions open up, some game wardens will transfer to be closer to family, but we actually have quite a few that stay put because they’ve become such a fixture in their local community where they were first assigned,” Maj. Brian Aston, assistant chief of enforcement for the AGFC said. “Some of the smaller towns can actually be the most fulfilling for some wardens, because they do so much to support local law enforcement needs.”
Visit AGFC Jobs for a list of requirements, preferred skills and abilities and an electronic application form. Visit Becoming a Game Warden • Arkansas Game & Fish Commission for more information.
