Page 8 - 2019 SEPT/OCT Outdoor Oklahoma

Game Warden’s Journal

ACCOUNTS FROM THE FIELD BY THE PUBLIC
SERVANTS WHO ENFORCE THE FISH AND
WILDLIFE LAWS OF OKLAHOMA

In learning about firearms, the students started with hand-
guns and rifles and concluded with the STEP event. The Game
Wardens are hopeful that this academy makes a positive impact
on these young people.

In June, Oklahoma Game Wardens, Texas Game Wardens
and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Rangers participated in a
joint effort on Lake Texoma. The agencies worked together to
make hundreds of contacts on the 89,000-acre lake shared by
Oklahoma and Texas. It’s the 12th-largest lake operated by the
Corps of Engineers. The striped bass fishery is world class, and
the lake has over 1 million visitors every year.
Several Oklahoma Game Wardens from District 7 assisted As a result, numerous cases were filed in Oklahoma and
with the annual Elk City Fishing Derby this summer. Almost Texas courts. Additionally numerous verbal warnings were
600 people participated in the event! Prizes and $700 in cash given for lesser infractions. This was the first of many joint
and were given to participants! As a bonus, Grant’s Auction efforts planned to protect the wildlife in and around Lake Tex-
and Realty gave away two lifetime fishing licenses! More impor- oma. Special thanks go out to our legal, licensed sportsmen and
tantly, many children got to experience the thrill of catching sportswomen for funding and supporting endeavors like these!
their first fish and get outdoors!

In June, Game Wardens Brady May and Tony Clark (based
in Cherokee County) and Cody Youngblood (based in Adair
County) conducted a Shotgun Training and Education Pro-
gram for students in the Tahlequah Police Department’s Junior
Police Academy. The Game Wardens introduced the students
to shooting shotguns.
The academy introduces students to different aspects of law
enforcement and safety. They were selected based on essays
they wrote to explain why they wanted to attend. Among the
activities were a CPR class, a tour of the 911 call center and
county jail, a session with police K9s, an ATF explosives class,
training in self-defense, and a ropes course.

(Reports from the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife
Conservation-Game Wardens Facebook page.)

EDITOR’S NOTE: Please help make a difference! When viola-
tors break the law, they steal fish and wildlife from you! Report
violations anonymously by calling Operation Game Thief at
(800) 522-8039. You could earn a cash reward.

6 Off the Beaten Path

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