VASSALBORO, Maine — Law enforcement agencies all over the state are experiencing worker shortages, including the Maine Warden Service.
Earlier this month, 13 game wardens graduated from the Advanced Warden Academy in Vassalboro. Officials say that's not enough to cover the demands of the busy summer season ahead. Still, they are hoping to draw in recruits.
The Maine Warden Service is a unique law enforcement agency in the state that covers the enforcement of fishing game laws, recreational vehicle laws, and even search and rescue.
"I think that [the] Warden Service is unique in our law enforcement community in Maine. We do things that basically we are the only agency that does," Lieutenant Aaron Cross with the Maine Warden Service said.
Matthew Tenan is among the recent graduates from the academy, and now serves as a game warden in the Lubec area.
It may have taken him a while to do so, but Tenan finally found the path to his dream job in his mid-thirties.
"I'm from Down East Maine, Cherryfield born and raised. Wanted to be a game warden my whole life, but life just led me in different directions," Tenan said.
Tenan worked as a foreman for seven years, but when he started to raise a family, he decided to follow his dream.
"The boys wanted me to be home more, so I actually took a job down home being a lobster fisherman, spent four years on the back of a lobster boat, and decided it was time to chase my dream and become a game warden," Tenan explained.
There are several steps to becoming a warden. After a physical fitness test, recruits go through the 18-week basic law enforcement training, then a 12-week academy at the Advanced Warden School.
"I feel like the Warden Service sets us up so that being overwhelmed is taken care of during training so that once we head to our districts, we hit the road running," Tenan said.
Lieutenant Cross said the game warden’s job can stressful at times, but it’s rewarding. The 12-week academy specific to the Warden Service prepares recruits physically, mentally, and emotionally for the job.
"Whether it's enforcing those laws that protect our natural resources, or finding a loved one that goes missing in the state of Maine that's a very important role that we play—and can be very rewarding."
Tenan offers this advice to anyone who's on the fence about becoming a game warden.
"[Don't] look back at the end of your life and wish I'd have gone for this. 'Cause that's what made me nervous as I was going to be 70 someday, and said I always wanted to be a Game Warden but I never tried," Tenan said.
"I think there's people all over the state. We talk to people in the outdoors all the time: to say you have the best job in the world," Tenan added. "I always wanted to be a game warden. Well, if that's how you feel, you've always wanted to be a game warden, there's no better time than right now to apply."
For requirements to become a game warden, visit Maine’s Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife's website here.