Behind the Badge
Other Duties as Assigned
District Game Warden Michael Sedlacek
Since the start of the Behind the Badge series, we have heard from many different game wardens about their unconventional days, hours and workloads. We have heard reminders about boat safety, aquatic nuisance species regulations, humorous encounters, and different case work.
One thing that we haven’t heard about is how game wardens also attend and give talks to sportsman and civic clubs, attend hunter education classes, assist at the North Dakota State Fair, and provide public outreach and education at sportsman shows.
I have worked the Report All Poachers and North Dakota Game and Fish Department booths at many shows on the eastern side of the state.
While these days can sometimes have the long hours of summer and fall work done by wardens, the nature of that work is somewhat different.
Many different people attend a sports show for many different reasons, and while working these shows I have talked to people about hunting, fishing, trapping and boating regulations.
I have heard many hunter and angler stories and I have been thanked for the work that we as game wardens do and the Game and Fish Department does for the hunting and fishing public.
I have helped hunters access the electronic posting data through different apps and informed them how to find the digital copies on the Game and Fish website, and I have heard late reports and complaints of violations from all over the state and I have talked about the outdoors and the Department with a large range of ages.
This last summer, the Department’s enforcement division was asked to participate at the West Fargo Night to Unite.
Night to Unite is a free annual event celebrating community and public safety through demonstrations, informational booths, games, and food vendors.
The event was hosted by the West Fargo Police Department and took place in Elmwood Park. I set up the Report All Poachers trailer that all are familiar with who have attended sports shows around the state.
This event was an opportunity to inform some of the people who don’t hunt or fish about the job of a game warden, the Report All Poachers program and the North Dakota Game and Fish Department.
I spent a lot of my time at this event explaining my job as a game warden and informing those in attendance that a game warden was a law enforcement officer.
It was a different experience than working a sports show, but it was a fun and rewarding time informing some of those in attendance about being a game warden.
I met a few kids that specifically came up to talk with me because they wanted to be game wardens and wanted to know what they needed to do to become a game warden.
I even met a couple kids, that after talking with me, told me that they now wanted to be a game warden.
Interest in being a game warden has dropped since I was hired 19 years ago, so anytime we can take the opportunity and attend some type of public event, talk with those in attendance about what we do as game wardens, and pique the interest of some of the young ones in attendance, it is a successful day on the job.