The planes - one twin engine Beechcraft King Air 200, one twin engine
four place Cessna 337, four single engine Cessna 185's and a twin engine
Partenavia Observer are operated under the jurisdiction of the
Department's Administrative branch. The varied work assignments are made
at both the staff and regional levels, with operations concentrated in the
areas of wildlife management, inland and marine fisheries management and
in law enforcement.
The overall use program, supervision of warden-pilots, and
responsibility of acquisition and maintenance rests with the Senior Warden
Pilot, Bob Cole. He along with his pilot staff, consisting of Loren
Goehring, Larry Heitz, Rich Anthes, Ron VanBenthuysen, Bob Morgan, Jeff
Veal and Tom Evans, have a combined time, in the air, of more than 60,000
hours.
Each of the Warden Pilots is also a licensed airframe and powerplant
mechanic. All maintenance of the aircraft and support equipment is
performed by them.
Each airplane has it's place in the air activities of the Department.
On a year-round basis, the planes each average 500 hours of flight time
annually.
Four Cessna 185s are the work-horses of the Department. They have
multiple duties--making surveys of bird and animal populations, herding
waterfowl from polluted or disease-infested habitat, assisting in herding
Canadian honkers during banding operations, tracking birds and animals
through use of radio telemetry, surveying salmon spawning, conducting
hunting and angler pressure surveys, familiarizing field personnel with
their areas, assisting ground wardens with their law enforcement duties,
and performing innumerable other aerial operations.
The very first use, and still one of the most important uses of the
light planes is law enforcement work. All eight of the pilots are game
wardens, and much of their time in the air is spent in the pursuit of game
law violators or in the prevention of law violations. All seven planes are
radio equipped and operate within the Department's radio network along
with the patrol vehicles and boats. Many a violator who would otherwise
have escaped has been rounded up by the airplane, and many times the
violator finds out how he or she was caught while trying to explain their
acts to the judge.
The planes, while simply flying a routine salmon redd survey or a
boundary line patrol during deer season, will often create an apprehensive
fear within the person below who is violating, or who is about to wilfully
violate game laws. In just being there, the DFG planes become an effective
deterrent to law violations.
In recent years, the planes have been heavily involved in studies
relating to rare and endangered species of fish and wildlife. They assist
in locating nests, dens and breeding grounds, aid in studies of man's
encroachment on critical migratory routes and wintering grounds, and to
assist in surveys of loss of habitat to land and water development.
While it will never replace the horse or the automobile, the airplane
has indeed proven it's worth. It is a modern day supplement to other tools
in research, management and protection of the state's wildlife and other
natural resources.
Bob and Carol are now both retired Senior Wardens.
