ete vs OrNrrh tUlL Ly be le N 17 
THE ILLINOIS CONSERVATION OFFICER 
By James M. Lockatt 
Before June 15, 1215, King John of England owned all the wildlife in his 
land, a state of affairs that often led to an exchange of harsh words and a 
shedding of blood between the King’s men and the yeomen of the country, 
who wanted to serve up the royal property on the dinner tables of the 
common people. Anyone who has read Robin Hood remembers the contest 
between Robin and his Merry Men and the Sheriff of Nottingham over 
ownership of the deer in Sherwood Forest. 
King John lost a few hunting rights on the field of Runnymede when 
the Barons forced him to affix his seal to the Magna Carta. No longer was 
the game of the field his alone; he merely held it in sacred trust for his 
subjects. Of course this did not mean that the common people could go 
hunting or fishing whenever they felt the urge, because that privilege 
was reserved for the landowners who controlled the right of trespass. 
The antecedents of the modern American conservation officers go back 
to the days when the landed gentry of England hired game protectors 
to defend their deer forests, grouse coverts, and salmon waters against 
poachers. The stalwarts who came to the New World brought with them 
the concept that wildlife resources belong to the people, not to higher 
authority who only held it in trust. After the American Revolution, the 
states assumed responsilibity for game and fish management. This idea 
of public ownership is recognized by court decisions handed down in 
the late 1800’s and early 1900’s in several states, Illinois included. These 
decisions gave the states the authority to set seasons and bag limits and 
permitted them to levy special taxes in the form of hunting and fishing 
licenses for the privilege of taking game or fish. It was then necessary 
to hire game wardens, men to enforce the regulations, to insure that no 
one got more than his fair share of the wildlife resources. 
At one time the name “game warden,” brought to mind an unshaven 
tobacco-chewing politician who spent most of his time hunting and fish- 
ing and a little of his time hiding behind a tree, intent on harassing citizens 
who liked to hunt and fish. This mental picture might have been correct 
Once, but it is not now. The ich of game warden has evolved into the job 
of conservation officer, and there is as much difference between the two 
as there is between an old-fashioned, muzzle-loading shotgun and a modern 
automatic. 
Law enforcement is still the most important duty of the conservation 
officer, but it is far from being his only duty. The officer is on duty 6 days 
a week, 24 hours a day. He is subject to call at any time. The tasks facing 
him are varied. He may spend days investigating metropolitan fish markets 
to be sure that they are properly licensed and are not selling game fish, 
or he may check grocery stores and locker plants to determine if they 
are selling wild game animals. 
There are 102 counties in Illinois, each with different problems. The 
commercial establishments may be important in cities; in the Illinois Ozarks, 
the officer may spend nights sitting on country roads trying to apprehend 
jack lighters who have no compunctions about killing a deer in the dark. 
On the prairies of east central Illinois, the big problem may be the illegal 
shooting of pheasants from automobiles. The conservation officer is called 
to assist other law enforcement agencies in recovering drowning victims. 
In times of flood he helps with rescue work. 
