Oklahoma Game Wardens Face Staffing Shortages Amid Peak Hunting Season

OKLAHOMA CITY (KOKH) — Oklahoma Game Wardens are heading into their busiest season short-handed, with several Game Warden positions open across the state.

Officials with the State Department of Wildlife Conservation say they currently have more than a dozen open Game Warden positions, the most openings they’ve ever had at once,

“So we do have 13 open positions, which puts us about 10% understaffed,” said the Department of Wildlife Conservation’s Law Enforcement Assistant Chief, Lt. Col. Wade Farrar, “This is the most we’ve had at one point, about half of them have left for retirement. The other half have left for better pay and better retirement.”

An Oklahoma Game Warden’s primary job is to enforce fish and wildlife laws in the state,

“Game wardens are state law enforcement officers, we have complete police powers,” Farrar said, “We’re out there for public safety, but our number one concern as far as day-to-day stuff, is the hunting and fishing rules.”

With deer hunting season in full swing, the open positions are leaving current Game Wardens swamped,

“It is busier, you know, there’s 26 less eyes out there looking for poachers,” said Farrar, “With that going on, we rely a lot more on the public to be there to see things and report the hows the whats the wheres the whys to us and allow us to go work the investigation and make cases.”

Wildlife conservation officials say they are getting ready to hire 11 new wardens, but they have to complete several trainings before they can start the job,

“It takes them about a year to get out there into the field, and then a little bit longer than that, to be completely released on their own,” Farrar said, “Next year, around October, is when the application process will reopen.”

Applications taken thru November 30.

If you’d like to apply to be a Game Warden, click here.