I would like to welcome you to the Maine Warden Service website. The men and women of the Maine Warden Service have a long standing proud tradition of commitment to the citizens and visitors of the great State of Maine. An estimated 2.4 billion dollars of the State’s economy depends on the diversity and availability of Maine’s fish and wildlife resources and the safety of all those that enjoy our many outdoor recreational opportunities. The Maine Warden Service was established in 1880, and still today, nearly 130 years later, through education, community involvement, professional law enforcement, and search and rescue practices Maine Game Wardens are committed to protecting and preserving Maine’s quality of life and outdoor activities.
As the Colonel, I am honored to lead Maine’s Game Wardens in their unique and challenging profession. We are faithful to our heritage, yet flexible and adaptive to change. Maine Game Wardens are progressive and highly motivated and recognize the tremendous responsibility we have in providing the highest level of professional conservation law enforcement and search and rescue services to all who venture into Maine’s woodlands and inland waterways. Our job is to enforce, educate and assist all in their compliance with our laws. We have no compromise for willful acts of poaching that steal from all who enjoy our unique and vast natural resources.
If you are interested in an outdoor law enforcement career that is rewarding yet challenging please contact your local Game Warden and take the time to visit the Game Warden Careers section of our website. The Maine Warden Service is always looking for individuals who are up to the challenge of our unique and exciting profession. Please take the time to learn more about our agency by visiting our website. You will be provided with helpful and interesting information relating to the structure, mission, vision and values of all of who wear the red coat. Thank you for taking the time to visit our site and please support your local Game Warden. We cannot conduct our mission without the valuable support and assistance of all who enjoy our outdoor heritage.
-Colonel Joel T. Wilkinson
Bureau of Warden Service - Law Enforcement Operations
The Maine Warden Service is the law enforcement branch of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. It is equal in organizational level and status with other major organizational units within the department or its successors. The bureau is administered by a director who is immediately responsible to the deputy commissioner. The director is the Game Warden Colonel. The director possesses full authority and responsibility for administering all the powers and duties of the bureau, subject to the direction of the commissioner and except as otherwise provided by statute. The responsibilities of the bureau include, but are not limited to:
- General enforcement. Enforcement of laws or rules as designated by this Part, or as specified;
- Wildlife and fisheries enforcement. Enforcement of laws and department rules pertaining to the management and protection of inland fisheries and wildlife resources;
- Snowmobile, watercraft and all-terrain vehicle enforcement. Enforcement of laws and department rules pertaining to the registration and operation of snowmobiles, watercraft and all-terrain vehicles;
- Investigation of hunting related shooting incidents and recreational vehicle crashes;
- Search and rescue. The coordination and implementation of all search and rescue operations as specified under section 10105, subsection 4;
- Safety. Assistance with programs for hunter safety and for the safe operation of snowmobiles, watercraft and all-terrain vehicles;
- Data collection. The collection of data as needed for the management and protection of the inland fisheries and wildlife resources; and
- Other. Such responsibilities as specified in state law.
The Maine Warden Service is made up of a field operations branch and special services branch that provides support services to the overall law enforcement mission. The Maine Warden Service has 125 sworn law enforcement officers and 7 non-sworn civilians in administrative support functions for a total compliment of 132 staff. The main office headquarters is located in Augusta, with the three divisional offices being staffed located in Gray, Greenville and Ashland.
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Bureau Structure – Field Operations Divisons
The field operations divisions are supervised directly by the Game Warden Major and are made up of three Game Warden Lieutenants that supervise three divisions with a compliment of 109 uniformed law enforcement officers. These 109 law enforcement officers are broken into five sections within each of the three divisions. Each section is supervised by a Game Warden Sergeant who is the field supervisor for seven to eight districts which are the responsibility of the Game Warden assigned to the district.
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Bureau Structure – Special Services Division
The special services divisions is made up of eleven sworn law enforcement officers and two civilian employees that provide critical law enforcement support functions to the Maine Warden Service. These services include an Aviation Division which is comprised of two Game Warden Pilots and one Chief Game Warden Pilot who is directly responsible for the air operations program to include supervision of pilots, policy development, maintenance, training and budget oversight. The Aviation Division provides critical support to the search and rescue and law enforcement mission of the Maine Warden Service.
The Investigations Division, Training Program, Whitewater Enforcement Program, Landowner Relations program, Specialty Teams and Internal Affairs program all fall under the Game Warden Captain. The Investigations Division is made up of four Game Warden Investigators that are stationed throughout the state. The Investigators are responsible for the criminal investigation of all death related incidents resulting in prosecution that the Maine Warden Service is responsible for. Additionally they investigate the circumstances surrounding lost or missing persons and violations of the commercialization of fish and wildlife resources. One Game Warden Whitewater Boating Specialist is assigned to enforcement of Maine’s commercial whitewater rafting industry.
One Game Warden Special Services Lieutenant who reports to the Game Warden Captain manages the Maine Warden Service technology and grant programs to include our records management, permit and activity reporting systems. Additionally, this Lieutenant is responsible for the supervision, policy development, and budget oversight for the K-9 Team, Dive Team, Evidence Response Team, Incident Management Team, Firearms Team, Forensic Mapping Team and Forensics Lab.
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Southwest Division:
There are three divisions in the Maine Warden Service. The divisions are managed by a Lieutenant who works from a Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife regional office. A lieutenant supervises approximately five field Sergeants and thirty-five Game Wardens. The Southwest Division is diverse and encompasses an area from Kittery to the extreme south, Eustis at the northwest corner, and Belfast at the eastern tip. The Southwest Division has the greatest population of people of the three divisions and includes Portland, Maine’s largest and most populated city.
The southwest division lieutenant works out of the regional office in Gray.
Southwest Division Game Wardens typically have six or seven towns in their districts but often respond outside their patrol areas to assist with large cases such as fatal crashes or search and rescue calls. The districts are geographically smaller here due to the higher human population densities of southern Maine. Several thousand calls for service are generated from those who live, work, and vacation in this part of our state. Fish and wildlife populations are abundant in this division and make for great hunting and fishing. Here you may choose to enjoy stalking a large whitetail in the far reaches of the northwest mountains near Bethel, fish for a beautiful brook trout from the Presumpscot River in Standish, or call for turkeys in the more densely populated town of Buxton in York County. Hiking opportunities are also plentiful as the White Mountain National Forest enters into Maine from New Hampshire at the western border.
Game Wardens respond to hundreds of calls and put in thousands of hours enforcing laws and education those who operate recreational vehicles in the Southwest Division. Recreational vehicle use here is high. The region contains both the Sebago and Belgrade Lakes regions and consequently makes for a busy summer boating season for Wardens. The boating season here is the longest of the three divisions and can last from Labor Day all the way through the end of October.
Over the last few decades, snowmobiling has become very popular for the southwest division, particularly in the Rangeley area. Other parts of the division, namely Cumberland and York counties, can fluctuate dramatically from year to year with snowfall totals. Additionally, ATV riding has become more popular and accessible in the Southwest Division due to the construction and maintenance of several recent interconnecting ATV trail systems. Wardens here are especially busy managing their time as daily activities divide their attention among high call volumes, resource protection needs, and public safety.
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Central Division:
The Central Division has a regional office located at the shore of picturesque Moosehead Lake in the town of Greenville. The division is incredibly expansive and includes a significant amount of Atlantic coastline to include Acadia National Park. It also encompasses the division’s largest city of Bangor, and the rugged and remote western border of Canada near Jackman.
Moose hunting brings much attention to this region, as does the snowmobiling industry. Both provide a substantial and reliable revenue base to local businesses, guides, and residents. Those searching for endless groomed snowmobile trails or record size fish and heavy game animals often make the Central Division a destination. The northwestern region of the division is known for its harsh climate, remote road networks, and law enforcement backup that could be hours away. Because of this, Wardens must be particularly careful and prepare themselves each day for the unexpected overnight wilderness adventure. Districts here are larger and begin to include unorganized townships. The central and eastern portions of the division are more populated but still contain vast tracks of uninterrupted woodlands.
Wardens living at the coast spend many frigid late fall and winter mornings enforcing waterfowl regulations. Here, duck hunting is arguably at its best in Maine and waterfowl hunters from all reaches make the trip. Wardens work diligently throughout the Central Division managing the huge influx of residents, nonresidents and out of country visitors who frequent the division for its unmatched beauty and natural resources. Those who recreate here can often be found watching a moose near Lily Bay at dusk, whitewater rafting down the Kennebec River at The Forks, or hunting for Eiders as the sun rises over Penobscot Bay in Stonington.
The weather within the division can vary greatly. Often times, Warden Service must engage in very different emergency responses within the division simultaneously. Wardens working in Greenville may be experiencing a search during a blizzard while at the same time Wardens along the coast may be rescuing stranded motorists caught on flooded roads. For sure, the environment here becomes more unpredictable and the Game Wardens are always ready.
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Northeast Division:
The Northeast Division contains the northern most reaches of Maine, protruding well north of many portions of both Quebec and New Brunswick. It contains some of the most severe weather and most remote forests of any state in the lower forty-eight. It is the northern range of the white tailed deer and moose, bear, lynx, and marten flourish in most sections of the Northeast Division. The division Lieutenant works out of the regional office located in Ashland. Field Sergeants and Wardens work in large geographical work sections and districts and utilize several remote warden camps to help accomplish their goals. The camps are used for overnight accommodations in the far-reaching districts where traveling across a single game warden district may take half a day.
Wardens here are typically involved in more traditional forms of conservation law enforcement. They commonly work in very remote areas and travel long distances on dirt road networks and walk several miles each week patrolling pristine rivers, brooks, streams, and woodlands. Outdoor recreation enthusiasts come to this area to get away from it all. Special accommodations need to be made to prepare for trips into this region. Whether it is on a remote deer-hunting trip near Allagash Lake, a fishing trip for a beautiful salmon in Grand Lake Stream, snowmobiling on the tabletop flat trails near Madawaska, moose hunting north of Baxter State Park, or canoeing the 100-mile Allagash River Waterway, choosing to recreate here will reward you with unforgettable memories.
Calls for service are less frequent in this region; however, workload is shifted towards a very aggressive proactive approach to resource conservation and public safety. Search and rescue calls and crash scenes can often be very remote. Special skills and preparedness must be in the mind of Wardens here at all times. The work of a down east game warden is wide ranging. They work tirelessly to protect fragile white tail deer populations in Washington County while trying to balance other resource pressures, calls for service and recreational vehicle activity concerns. Similarly, game wardens working in the north woods of Maine must always be mindful of the risks associated to solitary work conditions as they provide a necessary product of public relations, public safety, and conservation law enforcement.
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