Outdoor Notes : DFG Produces 31 Wardens in First Graduating Class

They filed onto a stage to a recording of “Pomp and Circumstance” to receive their diplomas, but this was a different kind of June graduation.

Instead of gowns, they wore forest green uniforms. Instead of mortarboards, they wore side arms.

These were the 31 graduates of the first class of wardens fully trained by the California Department of Fish and Game. They completed 20 weeks--22 weeks for the 13 women--of the normal intensive schooling at the Napa Valley College Police Academy, plus 400 hours of special fish, wildlife and environmental indoctrination.

The ceremonies were held June 16 at the California Maritime Academy in Vallejo, where the students were housed. Although they still must serve three months of probation with veteran wardens in the field, each is not only fully qualified in law enforcement, with expertise in 70 different firearms and the Vehicle Code, but can tell a salmon from a salamander and when wildlife habitat is being abused.

Or, as class coordinator Greg Cook said with a demonstration of duck calls, “They now know the difference between the soft whistle of a pintail and the loud quack of a mallard.”

Previously, candidate wardens were placed at whichever police schools were convenient, whenever one was needed, and got their specialized field training on the job. With this class, the DFG still will have only 374 wardens to patrol the whole state and its offshore marine jurisdictions, but the attitude seems to be one of harder resolve.

The class called itself the Poacher Pinchers.

Class president Salvatore Amato of Wilton, Conn., said: “A new generation of wardens. Before we could become game wardens, we had to become cops.”

DFG Director Pete Bontadelli, who swore them in, called them “our thin green line.”

There doesn’t seem to be much question about their dedication. All were required to have two years of college, were paid $1,900 a month during training and will start as low as $2,036, with steps up to $2,437 over three years.

All are also qualified to work, say, for the California Highway Patrol, which pays about 28% better.

“I took a $900 pay cut to work for the Department of Fish and Game,” said Jonathan Willcox of Downey, as his wife Karen sighed audibly.

Willcox, tops in the class, has a degree in wildlife management from Humboldt State but also wanted to be a policeman. He quit his job with the Gardena police force to take the DFG course because, he said, “It’s more than just the money.”

Willcox has been assigned to the patrol boat Yellowtail out of Oxnard.

The female wardens were required to take two extra weeks of initial physical training, and two dropped out of the rigorous course. Eva Marie Schultz of San Juan Capistrano--5 feet 4 inches tall--was tops in weaponless defense, and Christina Barnes of San Luis Obispo was most knowledgeable in the Fish and Game Code. Schultz will be based in Long Beach, Barnes in West Sacramento.

The new program was made possible by an increase in the training budget from $300,000 to $800,000 under Bontadelli, who pointed out the necessity of special preparation.

“Most of the time they’ll be out alone in areas where they have no backups, and 70% of their contacts will be dealing with armed people,” Bontadelli said.

He hopes to have at least one full class a year.

The International Game Fish Assn. is revising and expanding its all-tackle world record program by opening it to freshwater and saltwater species not currently on its record lists and by reviewing well-documented applications for past catches that exceed current listings.

Catches not included on the IGFA’s list of 157 species must be in accordance with the IGFA angling rules and world-record requirements. Applications for possible record catches made in the past must include as much information as possible, including a photograph and positive verification of the weight of the fish and the method of catch.

The Nevada Department of Wildlife says the killing of birds of prey for their body parts has reached epidemic proportions in that state and other parts of the country.

Cliff Jett, supervising game warden for the department, said that there have been cases where hundreds of raptor carcasses have been discovered by investigators. Talons of hawks have been found swinging from cars’ rear-view mirrors, the feathers of golden eagles hanging from hatbands and, in one instance, the head of a great horned owl was found “adorning a living room coffee table.”

It is not known how many of Nevada’s raptors are killed each year, but Jett said: “We do know that quite a bit of illegal traffic is taking place across the nation.”

Possession of birds of prey or their body parts, even if taken from a road kill, is illegal and anyone with information about possession or trafficking of such birds or their parts is asked to notify the authorities.

Briefly

The Department of Fish and Game has been unloading more catchable-size trout than usual in Mono County lakes because of low production from the wells providing water to the Fish Springs Hatchery. It means fewer fish will be available later in the summer. Also, Black Rock Hatchery has been under siege by white pelicans, cutting the crop about in half. The birds descend by the dozens on the open ponds until workers chase them away every morning. . . . Angler-author Ronnie Kovach’s second and last instructional session on freshwater fishing in California is scheduled tonight, 7-10 p.m., at Cerritos College.

Californians Larry Hopper of Santa Ana, Mike Reynolds of Modesto, Dan Leichty of Arnold and Al Layton of Parker Dam, qualified to compete among 43 weekend bass anglers for the $100,000 first prize in Operation Bass’ Red Man All-American tournament Friday and Saturday at Little Rock, Ark. . . . California Angler magazine’s inshore fishing school, featuring advice on how to catch local species, will be held July 22 from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Harbor Town Hotel in Ventura. Information: (714) 261-9779.

The Southern Council of Conservation Clubs will conduct a bighorn sheep census Saturday through Tuesday. Those interested may phone (213) 598-5158. . . . The Eastern Sierra Bowmen will have their first Family Fun Shoot Saturday and Sunday at the Sherwin Creek campground in Mammoth Lakes. They’ll be firing at 28 three-dimensional targets. Entry fees are $25 for a family, $19 a couple and $12 for singles. . . . The U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary will have two eight-week courses on “Boating Skills and Seamanship” starting on July 5 and 6, 7:30 p.m., at the Newport Harbormaster, 1901 Bayside Dr., Newport Beach. Classes are free except for the cost of materials. Information: (714) 675-9582 or (714) 581-5568.

Alaska wildlife officials and lodge owners say the oil spill in Prince William Sound should not affect fishing or bird shooting at two of the state’s important locations: Bristol Bay and Katchemack Bay. According to the report, only 700 of Alaska’s 35,000 miles of coastline have been affected. . . . The Project Mexico Fisherman’s Fiesta, a release-only tournament to benefit orphanages and the needy children of Baja California, will be held July 31-Aug. 4 at Rancho Buena Vista Resort at Baja’s East Cape region, about 50 miles north of Cabo San Lucas. Information: (818) 305-1517.