Tag: Wildlife

Here’s what we discuss:

Growing up in the outdoors
The path to becoming a Waterways Conservation Officer
First week of work is busiest of the year
Field training on the water
Four female officers statewide
Family life and flexible scheduling
Fish stocking is a public event
What is float stocking?
Golden rainbow trout
FishBoatPA app displays where fish are being stocked
Non-residents can take boat safety courses
Community outreach
Environmental law enforcement
Snakes!
No current illegal exotic animal regulations
Working patrol until just before giving birth
Flexibility to find your niche
PFBC command structure
Trout stockers don’t eat much trout

Credits

Hosts: Wayne Saunders and John Nores

Producer: Jay Ammann

Art & Design: Ashley Hannett

Content Coordinator: Stacey DesRoches

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80 Tim Schaeffer – Pennsylvania Fish & Boat

Posted on March 17, 2022 by nhfishcop10

Pennsylvania may have been named for its woodlands, but the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission believes the waters are the real attraction. Tim Schaeffer is the Executive Director of the PFBC, the agency dedicated to protecting, conserving and enhancing the Commonwealth’s aquatic resources, and providing fishing and boating opportunities for everyone. Join us as Tim describes the agency’s mission and its many public outreach initiatives – including a popular volunteer fish stocking program – and a mobile app that provides users a one-stop portal to the many activities the Keystone State’s waters have to offer.

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Here’s what we discuss:

What is the Fish & Boat Commission?
Agencies complement each other
Founding Fish
Volunteer fish stocking program
“You can’t beat Spring in PA”
FishBoatPA mobile app
“Spend more time fishing, less time worrying about where to get a license”
Always looking to do things better
Online/web-based coupled with in-person courses
Trout in the Classroom
Cold weather life jacket law
Life jackets are more comfortable than ever
How to fit a life jacket
The importance of clean waterways
Fishing with the family

Credits

Hosts: Wayne Saunders and John Nores

Producer: Jay Ammann

Art & Design: Ashley Hannett

Content Coordinator: Stacey DesRoches

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W01 Jillian Kilborn – Wildlife Biologist

Posted on March 3, 2022May 5, 2022 by nhfishcop10

Welcome to Warden’s Watch WILD, where we feature short conversations with wildlife professionals from all over North America and beyond. In our first episode, Wayne introduces us to Jillian Kilborn, a Wildlife Biologist for New Hampshire Fish & Game who has researched and tracked the American marten for nearly twenty years.

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Here’s what we discuss:

The inspiration for podcasting
The pine marten project
Working with trappers
Marten habitat and population
What is a marten?
Removed from state list of threatened species
Resource competition with fisher
Where to find American marten

Credits

Hosts: Wayne Saunders and John Nores

Producer: Jay Ammann

Content Coordinator: Stacey DesRoches

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079 Chad Eyler – PA Game Commission: Command Staff

Posted on February 24, 2022March 16, 2022 by nhfishcop10

In our final installment from the PA Game Commission, Wayne talks with PGC Special Permits Division chief Chad Eyler. Besides being an administrator for Pennsylvania’s Operation Game Thief program and the architect of one of the most successful wildlife crime reporting lines in the US, he also has the unique perspective of having worked for all three state conservation agencies. In this episode, Chad explains the formation, structure, and funding of the agency, the Deputy Game Warden program, and much more.

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Here’s what we discuss:

A good game warden story
Leader in wildlife forensics
Forensics skills can apply to all aspects of the job
Formation of the Game Commission
Refuges and ranges
Game lands help fund the agency
Low-cost hunting and trapping licenses
Explaining the Deputy Warden program
Almost a hobby
Hundreds of thousands of hunters
Keeping the agency moving forward
Issued a typewriter and a revolver
Refocusing priorities and adapting with the times
“It literally takes my breath away”

Credits

Hosts: Wayne Saunders and John Nores

Producer: Jay Ammann

Content Coordinator: Stacey DesRoches

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078 Brandon Pfister – PA Game Commission: The Veteran

Posted on February 24, 2022March 16, 2022 by nhfishcop10

Continuing our visit to Pennsylvania, Wayne sits down with State Game Warden Brandon Pfister, a former restaurateur who joined the Game Commission as a Deputy Warden in 2008. In this wide-ranging conversation, Brandon talks about some memorable cases, going viral on TikTok, and even shares some tips for a prize winning pie crust!

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Here’s what we discuss:

Snakes!
If at first you don’t succeed…
Deputy game warden program
The elk whistle and the viral TikTok
The importance of outreach
Everyone makes mistakes
Cooking wild game
Talking with kids
Humanizing the badge
Snakes!
Connecting with the next generation
Working together toward a common goal

Credits

Hosts: Wayne Saunders and John Nores

Producer: Jay Ammann

Cover Art: Ashley Hannett

Content Coordinator: Stacey DesRoches

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077 Zach Salsgiver – PA Game Commission: The Rookie

Posted on February 24, 2022March 16, 2022 by nhfishcop10

On the eve of graduation, Wayne sits down at the Pennsylvania Game Commission with Zach Salsgiver, one of 24 members of the latest class of the Ross Leffler School of Conservation in Brockway, PA. Established in 1932, the school – part college, part police academy, and part museum – was the first of its kind in the US. Listen as Zach explains what drew him to a career in wildlife, and shares some of his experiences from his ten-month journey toward becoming a Pennsylvania game warden.

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Here’s what we discuss:

Academy attached to HQ building
Day one can be a culture shock
Switching careers
Expanding recruitment into other states
Academy history
Training for anything
The most eastern elk herd
Seeing wildlife in a different light
Job carries many risks
Verbal judo and understanding body language
Fostering the next generation of hunters
The class that gets tased together…
Wildlife forensics training
Building a 44-week family
Wayne’s advice for new wardens
Never finish learning

Credits

Hosts: Wayne Saunders and John Nores

Producer: Jay Ammann

Content Coordinator: Stacey DesRoches

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076X – HUNT NEW ZEALAND WITH BRAD DANNEFAERD

Posted on February 8, 2022February 23, 2022 by nhfishcop10

In this bonus addition to Episode 76, New Zealand’s Brad Dannefaerd describes hunting in his home country, along with some practices and regulations many of our listeners may find surprising!

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Here’s what we discuss:

Generous daily duck limits
Year-round hunting
Seven different types of deer
No season, no license, no limit
Hunting in national parks
Spotlighting and night hunting
No natural predators
Guided vs. Independent hunts
Post-WWII population explosion
Overpopulation damage to natural environment
Professional hunters employed by Dept. of Conservation

Credits

Hosts: Wayne Saunders and John Nores

Producer: Jay Ammann

Cover Art: Ashley Hannett

Content Coordinator: Stacey DesRoches

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075 Heidi Murphy – New Hampshire

Posted on January 13, 2022February 24, 2022 by nhfishcop10

Fans of the Animal Planet television series North Woods Law will recognize Sgt. Heidi Murphy, an 18-year veteran Conservation Officer with New Hampshire Fish & Game, and the state’s first and only female CO. She has been an active member of the Advanced Search and Rescue Team, instructs courses for Fish and Game’s Becoming an Outdoors-Woman program, and was awarded the Shikar-Safari International Wildlife Officer of the Year in 2015. In this episode, Heidi and Wayne discuss some of her more memorable cases, what drew her to a career in wildlife management, and her hopes to attract more women to the profession.

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Here’s what we discuss:

18 years on duty
Only female officer on staff
Don’t need to fit a “box” to become a game warden
Attracting more women into the profession
Need to be passionate about job
Moving from Lieutenant to Sergeant
A boat at dawn is a pretty nice office
Work smarter
Busy Search & Rescue area
Bringing loved ones home
Sending rescuers into danger
Twenty-six hour days
Turkey magnet
Sometimes you get lucky
A memorable moose case
Filming North Woods Law
Inspiring the next generations of game wardens
Becoming an Outdoors-Woman
Teachers make good game wardens – and vice versa
Following clues to get to the facts
On the spot necropsies
Variety is the greatest part of the job
Networking with game wardens from other states
Keeping conservation relevant

Credits

Hosts: Wayne Saunders and John Nores

Producer: Jay Ammann

Social Media: Stacey DesRoches

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074 The Ellises – Father & Son Game Wardens

Posted on December 30, 2021December 30, 2021 by nhfishcop10

Lee Ellis knew he wanted to be a South Carolina game warden from the time he was a teenager. His son Hunter considered a few different occupations before realizing his destiny was in his father’s footsteps. Listen as they discuss their respective career paths, the unique benefits and challenges of growing up in a game warden family, and the changes they’ve each seen through the years. They may be Captain and Officer, but at the end of the day, they’re family.

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Here’s what we discuss:

Not the first South Carolina father/son warden team
Hunter always wanted to be a game warden… sort of
Not a lot of dads can say they work with their kids
Perseverance paid off for Lee
The Swiss army knife of law enforcement
Shrimp baiting
It’s all about preserving nature
Education and enforcement go hand in hand
Take One Make One program
Non-traditional law enforcement role; it’s a lifestyle, not a job
Family support is essential
Cat and mouse
Everyone knows the game warden
Adapt using technology, but keep your roots
How to catch an alligator
President of International Wildlife Crimestoppers
Hosting the 2021 IWC conference
Telling wardens’ stories is key
Promoting positive interactions
Encouraging the next generation

073 Scott Gray – Reformed Poacher

Posted on December 16, 2021 by nhfishcop10

Wayne, Lt. Jim Kneeland, and reformed poacher Scott Gray gather to discuss Scott’s poaching scheme that started in the 1990s. He took poaching to a new level. He practiced at home to see how how quiet he could make his weapons, buried a freezer in his shed, and believe it or not, once took the warden’s entry test. Wayne discusses with Scott and Lt. Kneeland, Scott’s tactics, preparation, and to what extent he took his illegal craft, and how it all changed one day.

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