Warden Erwin Kent prepares to tok 



of a beaver comploint. 



ENFORCEMENT 



During the past biennium, the expanded in- 

 terest in outdoor recreation and the increase 

 in the use of Montana's natural resources have 

 added new responsibilities to the game war- 

 den's work load. The growing number of hunt- 

 ers and fishermen, the acquirement of State 

 Parks, the growing popularity of our water 

 recreation, and the need for keeping abreast 

 of procedures and more modern techniques of 

 wildlife law enforcement have all broadened 

 the scope of the wardens' duties and placed 

 further demands upon the officers' time. To 

 help better distribute work loads, the Montana 

 Fish and Game Commission has inauguraied 

 two programs that should put more men in 

 the field for enforcement and will allow the 

 local wardens more time to administer their 

 respective areas. 



Special Investigations 



Late in 1963, the Montana Fish and Game 

 Commission inaugurated a program to help 

 combat the increasing difficulty of enforcing fish 

 and game regulations. A new position "War- 

 den Sergeant" was established within the en- 

 forcement division. This position was created 

 to promote on enforcement program capable 

 of dealing with special enforcement problems 

 more effectively. 



In order to qualify for warden sergeant, a 

 warden must have a general over-all knowl- 

 edge of wildlife management techniques, at 

 least two years experience as a regularly ap- 

 pointed game warden wtih above standard 

 performance, and must have shown outstand 

 ing interest and ability in techniques of inves- 



ligation, apprehension and interrogation. He 

 must also have intimate knowledge of all laws 

 affecting these techniques. 



Duties 



Montana maintains about 50 wardens to pa- 

 trol over 147,000 square miles. Many of these 

 miles are rugged back-country and wilderness 

 areas. It is practically impossible to maintain 

 a thorough coverage of their areas, keep cur- 

 rent in administrative duties, keep abreast of 

 ever-increasing work loads, and still be able 

 to take the necessary time to investigate spe- 

 cial enforcement problems that crop up from 

 time to time. The local warden often is limited 

 in his operation because of his familiarity to 

 poachers, lack of time for continuous inves- 

 tigation and surveillance and other duties that 

 keep him busy. Many of these special prob- 

 lems require a man in plain clothes and an 

 unfamiliar face to bring about a prosecution. 

 This is one of the duties where the special 

 investigation program has proven very suc- 

 cessful. 



During peak periods such as season open- 

 ings and special seasons, when the pressure 

 is unusually heavy at given locations, warden 

 sergeants are shifted to these areas to help 

 meet the situation. 



Ex-Officio Warden Schooling 

 and Training 



The second program recently initiated to 

 help alleviate the local district wardens' work 

 load is the ex officio warden program. The lost 

 Montana legislature added "other department 



29 



