[Brooks, Maine – Maine Warden Service] On the evening of Wednesday, November 18th at approximately 8:15 PM, the Maine Warden Service responded to a night hunting incident in the town of Brooks. A deer was shot in the roadway, in close proximity to a daycare center on Route 139. The shot was fired directly at the daycare center, posing a serious concern for public safety.
After collecting evidence at the scene and interviewing witnesses, the vehicle involved is believed to be an early 2000’s diesel model tan/gold GMC or Chevrolet extended cab pickup truck (please see attached photo of truck description). The truck was last seen on Route 139 heading towards the town of Monroe. This is the second night hunted deer in the same area of Waldo County in the past two weeks.
Maine Operation Game Thief (OGT) has been contacted and has agreed to offer reward money for anyone with information leading to the conviction of the individuals responsible for this act of poaching. Not only is this scenario unsporting and unethical, it also created a substantial public safety concern in this small town.
We are asking anyone with information to call:
OGT at 1-800-ALERTUS (1-800-253-7887 – you can remain anonymous)
Public Safety Dispatch in Augusta at 207-624-7076.
Florida Conservation Officer Officer Honored with Agency’s Award of Valor, Purple Heart
During the Nov. 18 Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) meeting in Panama City Beach, an officer, whose courage, training and perserverance saved his own life, received the agency’s Purple Heart and Award of Valor for his actions in the line of duty.
Read the story here
Border Security Push Reshaping Role of Texas Game Wardens
SOUTH PADRE ISLAND — The early morning sky brightened to a slate blue, providing Luis Sosa with just the right camouflage. Sosa, a state game warden, steered a 65-foot boat over open water at the southern tip of Texas.
Sosa and three fellow game wardens from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department watched the horizon and the radar screen aboard the boat, the Captain Williams. They were looking for signs of the Mexican fishing boats they had seen the day before, operating illegally in Texas waters......
Read the Dallas Morning News article here
Wisconsin's First Hmong American Conservation Warden
Paul Smith, Milwaukee Journal Sentinal
He dresses in the gray uniform of his colleagues, wears the same sidearm, has completed the same training and is sworn to the same oath.
But Ka Yeng Vue is different in one regard.
In fact, no one in the 136-year history of Wisconsin conservation law enforcement can claim the same distinction.
Vue is the first Hmong-American to be hired as a conservation warden by the Department of Natural Resources.
Read the entire story here
Georgia DNR Law Enforcement Sergeant Promoted to Captain – Will Lead West Central GA Region
SOCIAL CIRCLE, GA – Georgia Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Rangers in East Central Georgia now have a new leader. Sergeant Chris Hodge, a 14-year veteran of the Division, has been promoted to the rank of Captain and will be the new supervisor of Region IV, which covers 29 counties from Putnam, Wilkinson and Pulaski counties, west to the Alabama state line. He steps into the vacancy created when Captain Bob Lynn transferred to the coast to supervise Region VII. Captain Hodge's new assignment was effective on November 1st.
“I am convinced that Captain Hodge will excel as our Region IV supervisor,” said DNR Law Enforcement Director Colonel Eddie Henderson. “It’s a challenging and diverse Region that includes the cities of Macon and Columbus, as well as four metro Atlanta counties (Henry, Clayton, Fayette, and Coweta), but with his experience and solid work ethic, Chris is up to the task.”
Hodge has served DNR LE in the Coastal Georgia Region his entire career. Beginning as a Ranger in October of 2001, he worked his way up through the ranks of Ranger First Class and Corporal before moving up to Sergeant in 2010, where he has been until this week’s promotion to Captain.
Capt. Hodge has garnered the support and respect of his southeast Georgia community and his colleagues through leading by example, and his hard work has not gone unnoticed. He was selected as the Region Ranger of the Year in 2004 and as the Division’s State Boating Officer of the Year in 2009. He received the GA DNR Commissioner’s Life Saving Award this year and the Governor’s Award for Heroism in 2013 and 2015.
Hodge serves on the FFA Advisory Board at Camden County High School, is a volunteer for the C. Mo’s Kids organization and was recently elected to serve as an Executive Board Member for the Peace Officers Association of Georgia.
Captain Hodge currently resides in Camden County.