Georgia DNR Hiring Game Wardens

With the traditional summer vacation season getting underway, Georgia continues to suffer from a chronic shortage of game wardens to serve its 2 million hunters and 600,000 to 700,000 anglers.

According to a Capitol Beat News Service report, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) boasted 250 game wardens in 2000.

Currently, the DNR has 234 game wardens and they are now hiring.

“We’re still not up to where we were 24 years ago,” said Col. Mike England, director of the DNR’s Law Enforcement Division. “How many people are in Georgia in 2000, and how many do we have now?”

Mike Worley, president and CEO of the Georgia Wildlife Federation, said the shortage of game wardens has not affected the agency’s ability to process applications for hunting and fishing licenses in a timely manner.

Worley said the shortage encourages lawbreakers to engage in criminal activities like bringing deer into Georgia that might carry disease or smuggling turtles and other reptiles out of the state for sale on the black market.

The DNR’s budget for the coming fiscal year includes $577,000 to hire six additional game wardens.

However, England said that won’t do more than put a dent in the DNR’s workforce shortage.

If you love the outdoors and are interested in finding out more about becoming a game warden you can visit the DNR’s What is A Game Warden page for more information and find application information at https://gadnrle.org/careers-le.