Forgotten Lawmen Part 1 : The Life and Adventures of a South Dakota Game Warden

I served as a state game warden for twenty-three years. I spent the first seven years in Flandreau serving the good and decent people of Moody County. My situation was quite unique. The Flandreau duty station had been vacant since 1959. Moody County west of Interstate 29 was made part of the Madison district while the remainder of the county was made part of the Sioux Falls district. I never learned why this decision was made but it goes without saying the decision to leave the Flandreau duty station vacant was a gift to the poachers. Moody County was wide open and unguarded and the poachers took full advantage of the new arrangement. The sheriff's deputies did what they could to answer the calls and stem the bleeding but they were mostly unfamiliar with the game laws. Besides, the deputies were overworked and overwhelmed trying to serve papers, transport prisoners, provide courthouse security, work traffic, investigate accidents, and keep up with the steady volume of calls involving more traditional crimes. The county descended into poaching chaos and the wildlife numbers steadily declined. It was the honest sports men and women who cried "e;ENOUGH!"e; They had grown tired of watching their wildlife being stolen by outlaws. They had grown weary of listening to the poachers brag about their latest conquest over an animal that couldn't fight back. They drew a line in the sand. They were no longer going to sit idly by as their wildlife resources were being pillaged. Moody County needed a game warden! The Forgotten Lawmen chronicles my years of service as a young game warden who waded into the poaching cesspool known as Moody County.