Behind the Badge - Limits
Limits
District Game Warden Joe Lucas
A game warden can put a lot of miles on a patrol vehicle during a busy fall day.
With large patrol areas and a plethora of calls that come in, it is not uncommon to put over a couple hundred miles in a day.
After putting on a lot of miles on what is usually less than smooth road conditions, it is always beneficial to find a reason to get out of the truck and stretch the legs.
One morning this fall I had been busy checking waterfowl hunters.
It was the waterfowl opener, and a lot of groups were having success in the area that I was patrolling.
Later in the morning I contacted a group of duck hunters coming out of a PLOTS tract.
The group had a mixed bag of ducks, and each person had a limit of redheads.
I checked birds, licenses and guns for the group of hunters, and we visited about their hunt.
They went about their way and left the area after finishing packing up their gear.
After sitting in the truck most of the morning I was ready for a little walk to loosen up the legs.
I decided to go for a walk onto the PLOTS tract where I saw the group had set up.
When I got down to the edge of the slough, I saw where the vegetation was matted down and saw something in the weeds nearby.
I found three redhead ducks that were fresh from that morning.
I picked up the ducks and started to walk back to the truck while continuing to look for more ducks.
I found one more redhead in the weeds on the way back.
If you remember back, the group that hunted that location came back to their vehicle each with a limit of redheads.
I tracked down the info for one of the hunters and gave them a call about the ducks I found.
I arranged to meet the group nearby and we discussed the situation.
The group admitted to shooting too many redheads that morning.
The extra birds were left behind as they did not know what to do.
I thanked them for their honesty, and we discussed to call a game warden or the RAP line in event something like that happens.
In the end, each hunter was cited for exceeding the daily limit of restricted species ducks.
I got back into the truck and continued about my day.
Instances like this will always remind me that sometimes a little walk can lead to more than just some beneficial exercise.