A
by
Maine Ga me Warden
Ethan Buuck
Some say it’s God’s country
up here. If you were to ask me, it’s
a game warden’s country. Clear your
mind for a moment and imagine
yourself in the Northern Maine
woods. There you sit, on the shore
of a remote trout pond. You spent
fifteen minutes jumping over mud
holes making sure not to get your
shiny black boots muddy and wet.
You’ve got a few scratches from the
limbs of trees raking down your arm.
Those clingy burs are stuck to your
pant leg. The pond is small enough
that you can see the entire shoreline.
But there you are, overlooking one of
the most pristine water bodies the State
of Maine has to offer. Below the surface
of the water are hundreds of native
brook trout ready to forage on insects.
A loon floats on the surface certain it’s being
watched. Off on the far shore is a cow moose, belly
deep in water, trying to keep the black flies away as
it shoves its head underwater. Dressed in green you
gaze through your binoculars like a hawk looking
for its next meal. Clearly, you’re the only sign of
human life within miles, obviously no one to exceed
their limit of trout today. You lean against a tree just
to watch.
All game wardens have their own stories as to
why they wanted to become a warden. I won’t tell you
mine but ask a warden sometime what theirs is. Mine
won’t be much further from that. Basically, a desk job
won’t cut it for us. We all share a love for the outdoors
and little heart-pumping adventure. You could say
I started my adventure in 2006 when I enrolled at
Unity College for a degree in Conservation Law
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WINTER 2013