LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County's team of game wardens has increased over the course of this year, which is leading to more enforcement on the lake and the land.
In January, several new wardens joined the local ranks after having finished the California Department of Fish and Game Academy last summer, according to Fish and Game Lt. Loren Freeman.
That brings the number of local wardens to six, he said.
“We're real excited about that,” Freeman said.
Freeman said for about a year and a half there were only three local wardens working Lake and part of Mendocino County, with the other three positions existing vacancies.
New hires at the start of the year from the 54th academy include Mark Michilizzi, John Holley and Tim Little, according to Mike Carion, Fish and Game Academy director and assistant chief of Northern California.
Michilizzi is based in Middletown, Holley in Clearlake and Little in Lucerne, said Freeman.
“We're able to adequately enforce Lake County now with a full squad,” said Michilizzi.
The balance of the force includes Freeman, assigned to Lake County over the past four years and based in Clearlake Oaks; Erika Manes, who Carion said transferred to Hopland and whose husband completed the academy in August 2010; and Lakeport-based Warden Mike Pascoe, who transferred to Fish and Game from the Lake County Sheriff's Office about three years ago, and who Freeman called “an awesome warden.”
Thanks to the increased ranks of local wardens, Freeman said they're looking at increased enforcement efforts both on Clear Lake and local lands.
Increased interest in becoming a warden
“We're the law enforcement agency for the state as far as natural resource violations,” explained Freeman.
Not only does that include protecting animals, but also monitoring rules that apply to water bodies, including rivers, creeks or lakes, he said.
Fish and Game said California's 159,000 square miles is home to habitat and wildlife diversity that is unequaled by any other state, including more than 1,100 miles of coastline, 30,000 miles of rivers and streams, 4,800 lakes and reservoirs and 80 major rivers, three of the four North American Desert habitats, scores of high mountain peaks, more than 1,000 native fish and wildlife species, more than 6,300 native plant species and approximately 360 threatened or endangered species.
The agency reported that it issues approximately three million licenses and permits annually, and more than 300 million pounds of fish is landed commercially in California each year.
Carion said the Fish and Game Academy runs once a year, for 30 weeks.
He said the academy is certified by the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, and covers all basic peace officer training with additional Fish and Game topics and training.
The academy aims for about 40 cadets a year, and has about a 10 percent rate of those who don't finish for various reasons, Carion said.
This year, interest in a Fish and Game career is up, Carion said.
“This is one of the better years we've had in a long time,” he said.
He attributes that to the new television show, “Wild Justice,” on the National Geographic Channel, which follows the work of California's wardens.
“Our interest rate peaked quite a bit” after the show came out, said Carion.
As a result, earlier this year the academy moved classrooms around in order to accommodate 50 hopeful cadets, with 47 actually starting, Carion said.
“Once they get out of the academy they started a field officer training program, and that's 12 weeks long,” said Carion.
They can be paired with another warden anywhere in the state, at the end of which Carion said they're assigned to their own solo position.
He said they normally lose between one and three cadets per class during the field training process.
Before a cadet even enters the academy, they know where they will be stationed once they've completed their training. Carion said that's to avoid having people go through the training only to drop out if they don't like an assignment.
All vacancies in the ranks of wardens are advertised to current wardens, Carion explained. When no one in the field asks for the assignment, the positions are then offered to cadets, Carion explained.
The cadets' ability to pick their own spot is based on a formula that includes whether they're a current or past state employee, if they've ever worked for Fish and Game, if they have a bachelor's or associate's degree and an interview process, Carion said. “There's several layers of ranking.”
In the agency overall, about 60 to 70 percent of wardens have a bachelor's degree, said Carion, with a large part of the remainder having associates degrees or equivalent units.
The ranks of wardens have been cut back over the past decade. According to the California Game Wardens Association, there are fewer game wardens on the job today than in 1975.
Game Warden Patrick Foy, spokesman for Fish and Game's law enforcement division, said there are 240 wardens statewide. “Those are wardens on the ground, day to day, on patrol throughout the state,” he said.
That's the highest number of wardens since about 2000, due to very limited hiring from about 2000 to 2008, which Foy said was a result in part both of budget and hiring difficulties for the agency.
“Wardens are some of the lowest paid officers in the state,” said Foy, and during the last 10 years, as some other law enforcement agencies have hired aggressively, Fish and Game wasn't able to attract enough qualified applicants.
California Employment Development Department statistics estimate the median hourly pay for game wardens across the state is $32.36, with a median annual pay of $67,316.
Wardens are what Foy called “a one-stop shop.” They not only are out enforcing state regulations, but they also conduct investigations.
At one point the number of wardens throughout the state – who have a mandatory retirement age of 65 – dropped to below 200, Foy said. “It made it very difficult for us to protect California fish and wildlife.”
Foy has a biology degree and began working with the Department of Fish and Game in 1997, but not as a warden. In 2007 he went through the academy – which that year had only a class of 13 – because being a warden was what he wanted to do, despite the fact that he could have made $40,000 more a year working for the California Highway Patrol.
He said that he could have had more money, but he wouldn't have been doing what he loved. “That feeling is shared by the majority of wardens out there.”
Since 2008 the applicant pool has improved, which Foy attributes to the economy. “People wanted a good, steady job,” he said, and many other law enforcement agencies dramatically reduced hiring.
“For wardens it's an identity, it's more than just a career, its part of who we are,” said Foy.
Academy class sizes have grown, with 2010 – the year in which the new Lake County wardens graduated – being the biggest class in year, with 38 cadets, Foy said.
With increased interest in game warden careers, Freeman said staffing will be more competitive over the next three to five years. He said there are only a few openings across the state currently.
Last week, the deadline closed for the 2013 academy. For those interested in a career as a warden, visit www.dfg.ca.gov/enforcement.
More resources to protect local wildlife, environment
Freeman said Little will be Fish and Game's boating officer, primarily assigned to working on Clear Lake and increasing the enforcement presence.
“Lake County does have the first ever-invasive species ordinance as a county,” said Freeman, adding that Fish and Game is backing it “100 percent” and will conduct inspections to complement that program.
The importance of that ordinance isn't just because of its focus on invasive mussels like the quagga and zebra, but also because of the need to prevent the spread of hydrilla, he said.
He said the state is watching how Lake County handle its invasives program. “It definitely is a statewide issue and not just a local issue here in Lake County,” Freeman said, pointing out the prevalence of invasive mussels in Southern California waters.
Another increasing issue for local wardens is dealing with illegal marijuana grows on public lands, Freeman said.
“That's becoming more and more of a pollution issue rather than an illegal drug issue,” said Freeman, noting that growers are putting fertilizers into streams and doing other damage. “So we're having to assign wardens to try to prosecute the environmental crimes.”
Freeman said those problems are growing in Lake County, primarily because of the Mendocino National Forest – which encompasses a huge area of the county – being a major site for illicit growers.
Michilizzi, part of Lake County's team of wardens since December 2010, worked for the Department of Fish and Game for five years as a scientific aid, doing biological research, which he said gave him valuable experience before he went through the academy.
Having grown up in Cool, near Auburn, he has a bachelor's degree in public administration with an emphasis in law enforcement, and a minor in biological sciences. He said he's had a positive welcome in the county.
“I've wanted to be a game warden since in I was in high school,” he said.
An avid hunter an fisherman, Michilizzi said he wants to be able to protect California's natural resources. “And, of course, it's nice being outdoors as part of the job.”
Michilizzi said he enjoys speaking with members of the public and being able to answer their questions, and said most of his contacts with the public are positive.
While enforcement is a big part of his work, he emphasizes that wardens also are advocates for people who lawfully hunt and fish.
“Our primary focus is helping to ensure that the fish and wildlife resources will be here for future generations,” he said.
Freeman said the best way to contact local wardens to report issues and violations is to call Fish and Game's Cal Tip hotline, 888-DFG-CALTIP (888-334-2258). He said the automated system leads callers through a menu, with one of its last responses offering a chance to speak to an operator.
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