Wisconsin warden shortage and changes in responsibilities raise concerns

Paul A. Smith | Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

A shift in duties for Wisconsin conservation wardens, exacerbated by a staffing shortage, has state residents concerned about slackened enforcement of fish and game laws and reduced water safety patrols.

"It's high anxiety," said Larry Bonde of Kiel, chairman of the Wisconsin Conservation Congress. "Across the state people have noticed fewer wardens in the field and they're worried."

The change is linked to a Department of Natural Resources decision to remove law enforcement credentials from park rangers and instead have wardens provide more coverage in state parks.

The move, in the works for more than a year, has been fully implemented this summer and has the understaffed warden force scrambling.

In one case, a warden was forced to travel from Superior to Sheboygan to perform duties at Kohler-Andrea State Park, sources close to the department told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Throughout the state, wardens are spending a much higher percentage of their time in parks to the detriment of their traditional coverage, said Doug Hoskins of Muskego, retired DNR warden supervisor.

"I think it's a tragedy," Hoskins said.

As an example, Hoskins said not a single DNR warden boat "hit the water" in the southeast district over Memorial Day weekend. Instead, the wardens were on park duty.

The traditional start of Wisconsin's boating season used to be a prime period for wardens to visit local lakes, check for compliance with fishing regulations, look for drunk boaters and help keep the waters safe, Hoskins said.

The changes are part of an agency-wide realignment begun two years ago under then DNR Secretary Cathy Stepp and fall within a larger goal to streamline state government under Gov. Scott Walker.

The reorganization shrunk the DNR's structure from seven divisions to five and also eliminated the Bureau of Science Services.

In a November 2016 memo announcing the changes, Stepp said the effort would not weaken environmental or conservation standards but was "intended to maximize how we use the staff resources we have available, working with our partners to accomplish our mission."

As part of the realignment, all DNR law enforcement activities now fall under the purview of chief warden Todd Schaller (in the previous structure the parks department had its own law enforcement arm).

The plan called for 33 full-time warden positions to be added to the Bureau of Law Enforcement; however, only 11 have been filled.

With only a small increase in staff, the warden force is attempting to absorb the park enforcement work done by 120 credentialed park rangers and managers in 2017 in addition to all of its non-park responsibilities, according to DNR data.

The Bureau of Law Enforcement has 28 vacancies among its 226 potential full-time positions, or a vacancy rate of 12%, according to DNR data provided last week.

Retired DNR chief warden Randy Stark said such a reorganization has some merits, including consistency in training, policies and management. And natural resources agencies in other states have similar structures.

However, it requires adequate funding and staffing, Stark said.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, one retired Wisconsin warden told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel the plan would require 50 more full-time wardens to be properly implemented.

The impact of the change is being felt most profoundly in certain areas of the state, including Door County, with just three wardens, more miles of coastline than any other county in the U.S. and several popular state parks.

Dave Harris, 57, of Fish Creek is chairman of the Fish Creek Harbor Commission in Door County as well as a U.S. Coast Guard-licensed boat captain.

Harris, who has lived in Door County for 45 years and has served on the harbor commission for 20 years, said he has the highest regard for DNR wardens and trusts them to respond to local emergencies on the water.

But the law enforcement changes under the reorganization have been "completely negative," he said.

"It is a huge waste of resources," Harris said. "We have highly trained wardens patrolling campgrounds. And it's an unacceptable risk for public safety."

Harris said since the change in duties, Door County wardens are spending the majority of their time in Peninsula, Potawatomi and other state parks and far less in patrols on other public areas, including on the water.

Wardens have special training and equipment, as well as local knowledge of hazards and resources, that make them uniquely qualified to respond to calls, Harris said.

The change has pushed the morale of wardens to an all-time low, said Hoskins, the retired warden supervisor.

As opposed to other lines of law enforcement, many wardens entered the force due to their love and respect for natural resources.

"There's a reason I didn't become a police officer," said one active warden on condition of anonymity. "Now that's basically all I do."

Wardens are compensated out of the parks budget for time spent on law enforcement in the parks, according to the DNR.

But many in the state's conservation community are worried wardens will need to be compensated for park work out of other funds intended to cover fishing, hunting, boat or ATV activities.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has filed an open records request to obtain information related to funding sources and warden personnel in the parks.

"Will there be enough park money?" asked George Meyer, chairman of the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation and former DNR secretary. "There is great concern and it’s growing as the summer plays out."

The DNR could face yet another financial challenge if, by virtue of reduced water patrols, it loses funding through the federal Sport Fish Restoration Act. The funding source is critical for the DNR's purchase of warden boats and other supplies.

When reached last week for comment on public concerns about the warden situation, a spokesman for Gov. Scott Walker deflected the question to DNR officials.

DNR chief warden Schaller said his bureau was "learning as we go" on the new alignment.

"We’re getting a better sense for the challenges and opportunities this presents," Schaller said. "Obviously the vacancy rate is a big piece of it."

In recognition of the added park demands, Schaller said the 2019 warden recruit class will begin training months earlier in hopes of being in the field by next summer.

"Part of learning is understanding," Schaller said. "And we'll take what we learn to implement changes."