LAKE MILLS, Wis. — Lt. John Sinclair has worked as a Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources conservation warden for more than a decade.
He spent part of that time working in the field as a warden before moving into a supervisory role. It’s a job he says doesn’t get routine.
“That work changes with the seasons. It changes with the weather. We’ve got a rainy day today here,” Sinclair said. “Because of those constant changes, you really don’t have an opportunity to get bored. You’re always challenged, you’re always learning something new. Maybe the laws are changing. The public trends are changing in terms of people want to do in the outdoors. That changes every year.”
He said the job is about a lot more than just enforcement.
“It takes a lot of different skill sets to be successful here, Sinclair said. “Because of that, we look for candidates with a really wide variety of backgrounds, both life experience and a variety of educational backgrounds. We hire wardens with college degrees. We hire wardens with associate degrees. We hope wardens with master’s degrees, for that matter. We even hire wardens who haven’t yet completed their college experience but are maybe going to school at night or on their personal time while they’re doing the warden job.”
The Wisconsin DNR typically hires between 10 and 20 people. It hires once a year and is seeking applicants for its 2024 class of wardens. The initial application window closes May 4.
Sam Eagan has been a warden with the department for more than two years.
“I really just wanted to be able to protect the things I love to do every day,” he said. “And for the honest person going out there and wants to do the same thing, I want to be able to protect that for everybody.”
Eagan said public engagement is a big part of the job.
“Doing learn-to-hunts. Doing hunter safety classes, presentations. I feel it’s really important to get out there and not have the only interaction be only when I’m writing somebody a ticket,” he said. “That is part of the job and that’s something we have to do in order to keep our resources safe and to protect that for everybody, but the 50/50 blend is really what’s helpful for people.”
Sinclair said he finds the work fulfilling. That’s part of what’s kept him there for the last 11 years.
“I do think I’m part of a much bigger team here at the DNR that is doing good things to help people and protect the natural resources that we all need,” he said.
More information on becoming a Wisconsin DNR Conservation Warden can be found on the DNR website.