Behind the Badge - A New Way to Work the Water
A New Way to Work the Water
District Game Warden Drew Johnson
During summer 2021 I began brainstorming about how I could be more effective at working our waters.
Most of my time during the summer months was spent jumping around from access-to-access checking anglers and recreational watercrafts as they came off the water.
Sure, it was effective, but I was only seeing a small snapshot of the overall activity on the lake.
Game and Fish does have patrol boats that we use, however they are more effective and easier to operate while teamed up with another game warden.
I used a boat as often as I can when the opportunity to be teamed up with another game warden is possible, but I want more than what two busy warden schedules trying to coordinate allow.
Then the idea hit me.
What about a personal watercraft? A PWC would be the perfect solution for solo work and get me exactly what I was looking for – more time on the water.
I then called Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Conservation Officer Mitch Lawler, who I knew operated a PWC for patrol to express my interest and to pick his brain.
CO Lawler was enthusiastic about my interest and detailed the many benefits of patrolling via PWC.
CO Lawler also explained the law enforcement loaner program offered by Sea-Doo, which several of the CO’s in Minnesota participate in.
After hanging up the phone with CO Lawler, I then met with game warden supervisor Paul Freeman to pitch the idea.
Warden supervisor Freeman was very supportive of the idea but informed me that a decision would ultimately be up to chief warden Scott Winkelman.
Soon after, warden supervisor Freeman called to inform me that I was given the go-ahead to begin looking for a PWC.
I wasted no time and called up the nearest Sea-Doo dealership to get the process started.
This is where I ran into a big problem.
Being in a pandemic, all inventory was wiped clean with zero availability.
Fast forward to July 2023 I finally got the call I was looking for.
The long wait for a PWC was over as the dealership informed me that a Sea-Doo Fish Pro Sport 170 was available.
After being approved for the Sea-Doo law enforcement loaner program, I then went and picked up the PWC.
Since acquiring the PWC, my time on the water has increased significantly.
I still spend time sitting at accesses and patrolling with our standard boats, but having this unique opportunity with a PWC has made me a far more effective and visible game warden.
One of my favorite things about being a game warden is working with the people who use our natural resources and having the PWC to patrol with has led to far more made contacts.
A huge thanks to warden supervisor Freeman and chief warden Winkelman for supporting me through this process and to Sea-Doo for providing us with the Sea-Doo Fish Pro Sport 170 through the Sea-Doo law enforcement loaner program.