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I remember like it was yesterday, listening to the stories of the man that
no one wanted to meet. As a kid, I thought I had a good grasp as to who
and what the game warden was about. People feared him along the river in
June and July. Like the chaos of kids chasing a dropped bowl of jelly
beans across the kitchen floor, the sound of tires rolling on gravel and
the dust billowing at the treetops always caused a commotion along the
banks of the river. Things would only settle down once everyone realized
that it wasn’t the game warden, but rather, another fisherman.
They said that if he checked you out there, he would
seize your car or take your fishing rods. Although feeling safe in the
company of many, I still did not want to meet him. The hunter who was
unfortunate enough to run into the game warden would usually lose his
firearm, or so they said. In fact, he was able to turn himself into
grass or bush in order to conceal his presence.
As the years went by I spent more and more time engaged
in outdoor pursuits, however, I never had the misfortune of running into
that mythical character. But with time and age comes wisdom, and I came
to understand that the game warden actually did exist. When I stop to
think back on those stories I heard when I was a kid, I realize that
some of those myths are still out there.
It’s funny how things end up. Today, I represent that
old legend of the game warden, quietly cruising the back roads seeking
to put a stop to a poacher’s fun. But in addition to that, my colleagues
and I are working hard to dispel the myths surrounding the mysterious
game warden. Alberta Fish and Wildlife officers (game wardens) invest
countless hours delivering outreach programs. Fulfilling requests for
presentations relating to fishing and hunting regulations, hunter safety
programs, National Wildlife Week, BearSmart and career days have become
core business for our officers.
Last year I chose to meet a school group out at the lake
and deliver a talk about bears and our BearSmart program. I tried to
imagine myself in that setting back when I was a kid and how I would
have felt having the game warden sit with us and share a popsicle in the
heat of the day. Given the information I had then, I likely would have
fainted.
This day, however, the kids didn’t bat an eye. They were
excited and full of questions while they studied the bear trap in the
back of my truck. As I positioned the kids around the truck, the Control
Centre called over the radio. When I reached for the radio, the kids got
quiet. The information was passed on loud and clear over the radio that
a bear had been spotted earlier in the day right on the road leading
into the camp where we were gathered. The look on their faces was
priceless. They gathered together for a quiet discussion, as if to
formulate a game plan.
Unknown to the kids, I had arranged for the Control
Centre to call in the mock bear complaint. In response, it was my task
to go out and set up a mock site with a buried deer head with overturned
earth, place the bear trap with beaver for bait and put up warning
signs.
I later advised the kids that the coast was clear and
the bear was no longer in the area. As some kids were not too keen on
the idea of a bear being in the area, I did eventually tell them that
the scenario was not real.
At the end of the day, some may have remembered the
entirety of the talk, others, the smell of the rotting bait; but I know
that when they hear the worn out old stories of the game warden, they
will have their own story to tell that might just help put the old myths
to sleep.
The author (adult on left) and Constable Keith
Wellwood (adult on right) of the
Smoky Lake RCMP, field questions from the kids during a BearSmart class.
Jeremy Lindsay is a member of the
Alberta Game Association in Smoky Lake.
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