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Home > Bureaus and Divisions > Bureau of Warden Service > Game Warden Job Descriptioin

Game Warden Job Description

Code: 951100

Pay Grade: 20 ($16.24 – 21.68/hr.)

  • Value of State-paid Health and Dental Insurance: $322.97 biweekly
  • Value of State’s share of Employee’s Retirement: 26.56% of pay

    *Salary includes a $0.60 per hour Market Pay Adjustment.

Opening Date: September 4, 2007

Closing Date: September 21, 2007

General Information:

The Maine Warden Service dates back to 1880, when the first wardens were appointed to enforce laws giving Maine’s moose and deer their first legal protection. The service’s first enforcement action occurred on March 12, 1880 when two men were apprehended for killing a doe in closed season.

From this modest beginning, the Maine Warden Service now has a complement of 124 uniformed members and is the largest of three bureaus in the Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife. It consists of a control headquarters located in Augusta and two divisions with a varying number of districts. Regional headquarters are located in Gray, Sidney, Bangor, Greenville, and Ashland. Each division is administered and supervised by a Lieutenant and sectional Sergeants. Warden districts cover the entire State; they are generally geographically smaller in southern Maine where the population is higher and larger in the more sparsely populated Northern sections.

Today, the Maine Warden Service is a modern, professional, highly effective law enforcement agency. Members are certified law enforcement officers who use state-of-the-art equipment, including four-wheel drive trucks, boats, snowmobiles, ATV’s, personal computers, a two-way radio repeater network, portable radios, fixed wing aircraft, and night vision equipment, in carrying out their responsibilities. In addition, the service maintains its own forensic laboratory, dive team, K-9 unit, and aircraft. These aircraft enable Wardens to patrol remote sections of their assigned districts, effectively respond to emergency situations, participate in fish stocking, conduct angler surveys, and oversee boating activity.

Job Description:

This is certified, uniformed, law enforcement work as a member of the Maine Warden Service, Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife, protecting inland fish and wildlife resources and the safety of the public. A Game Warden’s work includes:

  • patrolling an assigned area called a district. Patrolling is usually done alone in areas where there is a concentration of hunting, fishing, and trapping activity. While on patrol, Wardens inspect licenses as well as fish and wildlife possessed by individuals and explains fish and wildlife, recreation, and environmental laws, rules, and regulations. Patrol may be conducted on foot or by truck, boat, canoe, snowmobile, all-terrain vehicles (ATV’s), or airplane.
  • issuing warnings and summonses, and making arrests as necessary. In addition to enforcing fish and wildlife, recreation, and environmental laws, Wardens are empowered to enforce all other state laws.
  • conducting investigations, gathering evidence, writing reports, and testifying in court. Investigations may stem from citizen complaints or observed incidents of law violations and may include complaints involving ATV’s, sick or nuisance wildlife, and landowner issues.
  • investigating accidents involving hunting, boats, wildlife, and off-highway snowmobiles and ATV’s.
  • organizing, directing, and/or participating in search and rescue operations. This is a priority requirement and may entail working on the recovery of drowning victims and other deceased persons.
  • working with biologists, animal control agents, and/or wildlife rehabilitators.

To be a successful Maine Game Warden, an individual must possess considerable knowledge of wildlife, hunting, fishing, trapping, and other related outdoor sports, a strong desire to work in law enforcement, self initiative, and a willingness to work out-of-doors in adverse weather conditions, often times without assistance. In all cases, a Warden seeks to promote good public relations and compliance with all fish and wildlife regulations.

Minimum Requirements:

In order to qualify, you must:

  • have a high school diploma or equivalent if age 21 and above;
  • be at least 21 years old by January 1, 2008 (with a high school diploma or equivalent) -OR- can be only 20 years old and have completed an Associate’s Degree or 60 credit hours of post-secondary education by January 1, 2008;
  • have successfully passed the Maine Criminal Justice Academy’s ALERT examination;
  • have successfully passed the Maine Criminal Justice Academy’s Pre-Employment Physical Fitness Test within the past year;
  • have or be able to obtain a valid Maine Class C motor vehicle operator’s license;
  • be willing to locate anywhere within the State of Maine.

Important notes:

You must attach within the application:

  • proof of age (copy of birth certificate or driver’s license).
    • a copy of your high school diploma or GED certificate.
    • a letter from the Maine Criminal Justice Academy showing your ALERT examination score.
    • a letter from the Maine Criminal Justice Academy showing your Pre-Employment Physical Fitness Test results.
  • Only if you are age 20, you must attach within the application proof of your Associate’s Degree or completed 60 credit hours of post-secondary education.
  • If veteran’s preference points are claimed, you must attach within the application a copy of your DD Form 214 or a statement of disability from the Veterans Administration dated within the last 6 months. Applicable points will be awarded after written and oral testing is completed.
  • FAILURE TO PROVIDE ANY OF THESE MATERIALS WILL RESULT IN FAILURE OF THE MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS.

Testing and Evaluation Process:

Because of the responsibilities and authority of a Game Warden, the selection process is extensive and thorough. The following outline summarizes the testing and screening process used to evaluate every applicant for Game Warden before a hiring decision is made. The testing process is conducted by the Bureau of Human Resources and the Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife and involves multiple evaluation phases. You must successfully complete each phase in order to proceed to the next.

The Testing Process is as follows (all exam dates are tentative):

*Important Note: The Maine Criminal Justice Academy will hold ALERT examinations and physical fitness tests on September 5, 2007 and September 19, 2007 (must pre-register). This will be your only opportunity during this application period to complete these examinations. If you cannot attend these tests on September 5 or September 19, 2007, please contact Briana Carey at (207) 624-7791 at the Bureau of Human Resources to discuss alternatives.

  1. ALERT Examination: Applicants must have already taken and passed the ALERT test prior to applying to the Bureau of Human Resources for placement on the Employment Register. This may be done by calling (207) 877-8000 (there is a $40.00 fee for this test). Testing is normally scheduled for the first Wednesday of every month at the Maine Criminal Justice Academy in Vassalboro, Maine. Test questions are multiple choice and fall within the categories of Writing Skills and Reading Comprehension.
  2. Physical Fitness Test: Applicants must have already taken and passed the Pre-Employment Physical Fitness Test within the past year prior to applying to the Bureau of Human Resources for placement on the Employment Register. This may be done by calling (207) 877-8000 (there is a $25.00 fee for this test). Testing is normally scheduled for the first Wednesday of every month at the Maine Criminal Justice Academy in Vassalboro, Maine. The Physical Fitness Test is a Pass/Fail test. It consists of three events: Timed Push-Up Test (one minute); Timed Sit-Up Test (one minute); and 1.5 Mile Run. Testing information and standards for successful completion of the Physical Fitness Test are available by accessing the Maine Criminal Justice Academy’s web site. Under Law Enforcement Basic Training see Physical Fitness Testing Protocol, this information can also be obtained by calling the number listed above.
  3. Application Period: (September 4, 2007 – September 21, 2007) Applications will only be accepted during this period. Applications postmarked after this period will be denied.
  4. Application Evaluation: (during the application period) Applications are reviewed to ensure that each applicant meets the minimum requirements defined in this Bulletin. Applicants who do not meet these requirements are disqualified from further consideration.
  5. Written Test: (week of October 15, 2007) All applicants who meet the minimum requirements will be scheduled for the Written Test. No rescheduling or retesting will be allowed. This examination counts for 100% of the final score. The questions (multiple choice) fall within the following categories: Vocabulary, Spelling, Reading Comprehension, and Math; Hunting, Trapping, Fishing, and Equipment; Mammals, Fish, and Birds of Maine; Watercraft, Snowmobiles, and All-Terrain Vehicles; and General Knowledge.
  6. Employment Register: Applicants who pass the written examination will be placed on an Employment Register maintained at the Bureau of Human Resources. This register will be used to fill vacancies throughout the State.
  7. Oral Board Interview: (week of November 12, 2007) No rescheduling or retesting will be allowed. The oral interview is administered by a board made up of three members of the Maine Warden Service. Candidates will be rated in the following categories: Commitment/Independence; Judgment/Logic; Communication Skills; Applied Knowledge; Decision Making/Decisiveness; and Tact and Diplomacy.
  8. Background Investigation: Upon certification to the Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife as well as a conditional offer of employment, the Maine Warden Service will conduct an extensive background investigation concerning the applicant, including military service, education, motor vehicle record, criminal history record, financial record, work history, and references. A screening committee will review the results for information that would eliminate the candidate from further consideration. An applicant will automatically be eliminated if he/she:

    1. Has committed any crime classified in Maine law as a Class A, Class B, or Class C crime (any felony);

    2. Has been found guilty of any crime classified in Maine law as a Class D crime (a Class D crime is a misdemeanor with a maximum term of imprisonment of 364 days). A person may make application to the Maine Criminal Justice Academy (MCJA) Board of Trustees for a waiver of this provision. Persons with questions regarding this provision should contact the Office of the Game Warden Colonel at 207-287-2766;

    3. Has an extensive record of motor vehicle or fish and wildlife law violations;

    4. Has convictions for Murder, Class A, B, C, or D crime, or convictions for any violation of the Maine Criminal Code, Chapters 15, 19, 25, or 45 or a conviction for any equivalent crime in another jurisdiction outside the State of Maine. A person may make application to the Maine Criminal Justice Academy (MCJA) Board of Trustees for a waiver of this provision;

    5. Has engaged in any conduct that is penalized in this state as Murder, Class A, B, C, or D crime, or any provision of the Maine Criminal Code, Chapters 15, 19, 25, or 45; or engaged in such conduct in another jurisdiction outside the State of Maine, unless that conduct is not punishable as a crime under the laws of that jurisdiction. A person may make application to the Maine Criminal Justice Academy (MCJA) Board of Trustees for a waiver of this provision;

    6. Has convictions for operating a motor vehicle under the influence of intoxicating liquor during the six year period prior to application to the Basic Law Enforcement Training Program, or have been adjudicated of committing the administrative offense of operating a vehicle under the age of 21 with a greater than a 0.00 blood alcohol content during the six year period prior to application to the Academy Basic Law Enforcement Training Program. A person may make application to the Maine Criminal Justice Academy (MCJA) Board of Trustees for a waiver of this provision;

    7. Has been found guilty of conduct specified in subparagraphs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 in another state of jurisdiction;

    8. Has ingested or been injected with or used a hallucinogenic drug;

    9. Has illegally sold scheduled drugs or drugs which require a prescription;

    10. Has engaged in illegal drug use beyond what is considered as experimentation;

    11. Is currently abusing drugs or alcohol;

    12. Falsified, misrepresents, or omits any information when interviewed, during the background investigation, polygraph examination, or on the pre-polygraph questionnaire.
  9. Polygraph Examination: Upon completion of the background investigation, viable candidates will be scheduled for a polygraph examination. The results of the background investigation and polygraph examination will then be reviewed by a screening committee to determine if the candidate is eligible to continue. This determination will be reached by weighing all the information received.
  10. Swim Test: (Test will only be given to final candidates, date to be announced.) Upon successful completion of the polygraph examination candidates will be scheduled for a swim test. Game Wardens must be able to swim. You will be wearing a bathing suit, which contains no floatation material such as closed-cell foam, etc., and given rubber boots (appropriately sized) to put on with no socks (ear plugs and goggles may be worn). You will jump into the water and remove the boots. When a person makes an unplanned fall into the water, boots become saturated and serve as an anchor making it almost impossible to swim. Therefore, they need to be removed.

    You will then tread water in the vertical position for 15 minutes with head out of the water. Game Wardens spend a good portion of time in boats; it is possible they may capsize some distance from shore. The ability to tread water may allow you to survive long enough to be rescued.

    You will then swim 100 yards using any stroke without stopping. The monitor will require you to tag each end of the pool as you reach it. At no time after entering the water may you hang on to the side or touch the bottom of the pool.

    All three parts of the swimming requirement must be completed within 25 minutes.
  11. Colonel Interview: Candidates successfully completing the swim test will be scheduled for an interview with the Colonel of the Maine Warden Service. Final selection will be based on the Colonel’s interview along with the successful completion of a medical and psychological examination. Approximately one month prior to the start date of the school, the Maine Criminal Justice Academy will again require that every candidate who is attending the Basic Law Enforcement Training Program must successfully pass the Physical Fitness Test.

New Warden Cadets are required to attend and successfully complete the Basic Law Enforcement Training Program at the Maine Criminal Justice Academy. Upon graduation, new Wardens will be placed on an additional one (1) year of probation and will be required to attend and successfully complete the Maine Warden Service Training Academy. After completion of probation, the Warden will be eligible for a merit increase.

Note to currently certified law enforcement officers:

Candidates selected for initial appointment who are:

  1. certified, full-time law enforcement officers in Maine (or are able to obtain a waiver of basic law enforcement training from the Maine Criminal Justice Academy (MCJA) Board of Trustees), and
  2. have attained the 50th percentile on each component of the MCJA Pre-Employment Physical Fitness Test

may be exempted from attending the MCJA's basic course at the discretion of the Colonel of the Maine Warden Service. All other selected applicants will be required to attend and successfully complete this course of instruction.

Note: Each component of the Game Warden examination process must be completed successfully. Failure to successfully complete a component (or portion of a component) will result in disqualification from further consideration.

The Bureau of Human Resources reserves the right to use any other selection devices necessary in order to identify those candidates who are most qualified.

Application Information:

You must complete a State of Maine Employment Application form available at the Bureau of Human Resources in Augusta, all Maine Career Center Offices, and on our web site (www.maine.gov/bhr/state_jobs). The complete application must be submitted to: Bureau of Human Resources #4 State House Station, Augusta, Maine 04333-0004, Telephone: (207) 624-7761, TTY: 1-888-577-6690 (Located at the Burton M. Cross Building, 4th Floor) Incomplete Applications will be returned without processing. The Bureau of Human Resources is unable to provide copies of submitted materials.

Maine State Government is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer