Game Warden Paul Farrington Presentation, July 29, 2019

Game Warden Paul Farrington has been in the warden service for more than 22 years; he is responsible for 18 townships from Mattawamkeag to Vanceboro, including Lakeville, an area he’s been covering the whole time.  If he’s away, another warden may temporarily cover for him, but Paul is pretty protective of his territory.  Paul is a field training officer, teaching new recruits, mostly in situations involving fishing and hunting.  Generally, there is a low volume of complaints to which to respond.

Paul talked about rescuing bear cubs whose mother was run off by a logging event.  The cubs wouldn’t survive very long in 10-degree weather.  Paul was able to gather them in, warm them, and put them in two other dens where mother bears would raise them as their own.

Over his years as a warden, Paul has seen changes:  ATVs were not popular, there were no trails, fewer camps, and snowmobile clubs didn’t exist.  Now there is turnover of camps to new people as the older people don’t like maintenance, far fewer boats, more ATVs and trails, and less fishing and hunting.  There are increased animal/homeowner encounters.

By statute, the warden service leads searches, has divers, runs the dogs; volunteers are often like “herding cats.”

Paul talked about his dogs; the first one didn’t work out.  He brought a third dog in with his 5 kids.  The long-legged, hard-going dog Koda was the best dog in the service.  Koda found a break-in on Upper Dobsis involving firearms; a car crash; and a missing 18-year-old fisherman that was kept from being an all-night or multi-day search.

Current dog Yaro is not as good, but Paul is confident that if Yaro doesn’t find anything, then the area is clear; the goal is to clear an area or find the person.

Qualities for being a warden include the love of the outdoors in high and low temperatures, and enjoy talking to people.  A college degree is not necessary, but a person has to be 21 or 20 with an Associate degree.  The testing is rigorous and includes a stint at the Criminal Justice Academy requiring passing physical and alertness tests.  There’s a written test of outdoor knowledge to identify fish, ducks, etc.  There is an oral test in front of a panel of Board of Wardens involving identification of items and decision-making in scenarios presented.  There is also a polygraph examination because in court, it may be the testimony of a warden that carries weight, and a warden has to be able to tell the truth.  The Colonel interviews potential recruits and there is 18 weeks at the police academy, 14 weeks at advanced warden school, and 16 weeks of field training which entails moving to different parts of the state.

The warden’s utility belt weighs about 30 pounds which includes 2 sets of handcuffs, gun, flashlight, keys, tourniquet, extra bullets, and more.  Retirement, with 50% salary, is possible after 25 years.  There is a crunch coming up with many wardens retiring and not enough applicants, but the Colonel will not change the qualifications.  Some wardens also leave the service to become police officers where the pay is better.  Paul likes to do the job the right way and has covered difficult homicide cases.  He notes the changes in animals in his territory with Canada lynx here now and moose perhaps moving into other areas.

Paul talked about training and working with his dogs.  Following an odor for tracking is best in the shade, not in the sun.  A dog should have high energy, high drive.  An article search requires 110 hours of training, tracking an additional 180 hours; there is air scent field work with day and night searches in which the dog must find the sought item or person within two passes.  Handlers have written and field tests.  Different breeds of dogs serve different purposes.

Paul ended by talking about boat safety and the importance of having an attached cut-off line to the motor in case a person goes overboard or passes out.  He suggested Frank Roy from Maine Dept. of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife to talk about boat safety; his number is 207-461-1185.