92 Col. Joel Wilkinson (Ret.) – Maine – Part I

Joel Wilkinson spent 28 years serving the state of Maine, including twelve years as Colonel of the Maine Warden Service. Now retired, Col. Wilkinson sits down with Wayne to reflect on an extraordinary career that began when he was just a teen. In this episode, we discuss his early years as a game warden, including an intense turn in covert operations that resulted in some of the agency’s most significant prosecutions of the time.


Our Sponsors: 
Thin Green Line Podcast
Don Noyes Chevrolet
Sovereign Sportsman Solutions
“A Cowboy in the Woods” Book
Hunt of a Lifetime
Maine's Operation Game Thief
Wildlife Heritage Foundation of NH
International Wildlife Crimestoppers

Here’s what we discuss:

Maine has used the term ‘game warden’ since 1880

No time to hunt or fish.

Learned about the outdoors from a girlfriend’s father

Started riding with game wardens at 16

Became a deputy warden at 19

Tried to sneak in a little early

“This is all I wanted to do.”

2000 applicants, few positions

Tried appealing to the Colonel

Joined a local police department to gain experience

Trained with many Maine wardens at the academy

Finally hired by Maine Warden Service at 22

No warden in his area for 11 years

Caught first night hunter eight days after graduating

Moving to a new area, population: 4

Chris Simmons becomes the boss… and moves in across the road

A memorable Thanksgiving night

Shifting into covert investigations

A big case, but some unnerving moments 

Targets often under the influence of alcohol and drugs

Seeing the other side

“It changed how we did business.”

Making Captain at 32

Learned many administrative skills

The Maine whitewater rafting industry

Many companies offer rafting, hiking, and rock climbing



Credits
Hosts: Wayne Saunders and John Nores
Producer: Jay Ammann
Art & Design: Ashley Hannett
Research / Content Coordinator: Stacey DesRoches

Subscribe:
Apple Podcasts
Spotify
Amazon
Google
Waypoint
Stitcher
TuneIn
Megaphone
Find More Here:
Website
Warden’s Watch / TGL Store
Facebook
Facebook Fan Page
Instagram
Twitter
YouTube
RSS
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices