Game Warden

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DEPARTMENT OF INLAND FISHERIES & WILDLIFE

GAME WARDEN

Opening Date: December 12, 2025

Closing Date: Until Filled

Location: Statewide

Position Type: Permanent Full Time

Class Code: 9511

Grade: 22 (Law Enforcement)

Salary: $32.48 - $45.00 Per Hour* (UPDATED ON 11/06/2026)

*(This includes $0.85 per hour Availability/Reachability Allowance)

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT MAINE WARDEN SERVICE:

The Maine Warden Service dates back to 1880, when the first wardens were appointed to enforce laws giving Maine’s moose and deer their first legal protection. The service’s first enforcement action occurred on March 12, 1880 when two men were apprehended for killing a doe in closed season. From this modest beginning, the Maine Warden Service now has a complement of 124 uniformed members and is the largest of three bureaus in the Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife. It consists of a control headquarters located in Augusta and five divisions with a varying number of districts. Division headquarters are located in Gray, Sidney, Bangor, Greenville, and Ashland. Each division is administered and supervised by a Lieutenant and sectional Sergeants. Warden districts cover the entire state; they are generally geographically smaller in southern Maine where the population is higher and larger in the more sparsely populated Northern sections.

Today, the Maine Warden Service is a modern, professional, highly effective law enforcement agency. Members are certified law enforcement officers who use state-of-the-art equipment, including four-wheel drive trucks, boats, snowmobiles, ATVs, personal computers, a two-way radio repeater network, portable radios, fixed wing aircraft, and night vision equipment, in carrying out their responsibilities. In addition, the service maintains its own forensic mapping team, evidence recovery unit, dive team, K-9 unit, and aircraft fleet. These aircraft enable Wardens to patrol remote sections of their assigned districts, effectively respond to search and rescue situations, fish and wildlife enforcement, fish stocking, and oversee recreational boating activity.

GAME WARDEN JOB DESCRIPTION:

This is certified, uniformed, law enforcement work as a member of the Maine Warden Service, Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife, protecting inland fish and wildlife resources and the safety of the public. A Game Warden’s work includes:

• Patrol an assigned area called a district. Patrolling is usually done alone in areas where there is a concentration of hunting, fishing, and trapping activity. While on patrol, Wardens inspect licenses as well as fish and wildlife possessed by individuals. Explain fish and wildlife, recreation, and environmental laws, rules, and regulations. Patrol may be conducted on foot or by truck, boat, canoe, snowmobile, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), or airplane.
• Issue warnings and summonses and making arrests as necessary. In addition to enforcing fish and wildlife, recreation, and environmental laws, Wardens are empowered to enforce all other state laws.
• Conduct investigations, gathering evidence, writing reports, and testifying in court. Investigations may stem from citizen complaints or observed incidents of law violations, and may include complaints involving ATVs, sick or nuisance wildlife, and landowner issues.
• Investigate hunting incidents and crashes involving recreational vehicles.
• Organize, directing, and/or participating in search and rescue operations. This is a priority requirement and may entail working on the recovery of drowning victims and other deceased persons.
• Working with biologists, animal control agents, and/or wildlife rehabilitators.

To be a successful Maine Game Warden, an individual must possess considerable knowledge of wildlife, hunting, fishing, trapping, and other related outdoor sports; a strong desire to work in law enforcement; self-initiative and a willingness to work out-of-doors in adverse weather conditions, often without assistance. In all cases, a Warden seeks to promote good public relations and compliance with all fish and wildlife regulations.

PREFERENCES:

Preference will be given to any candidate that currently holds an active, in good standing, Certification of Eligibility for Law Enforcement or any candidate that has passed the Law Enforcement Pre-Service training.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS TO APPLY FOR GAME WARDEN:

In order to qualify, you must:

• have a high school diploma or equivalent;
• be at least 21 years old -OR- can be only 20 years old and have completed an associate degree or 60 credit hours of post-secondary education by the date the application is submitted
• have successfully passed the Maine Criminal Justice Academy’s Pre-Employment Physical Fitness Test within a year of submitting application; (see below for scheduling)
• have or be able to obtain a valid Maine Class C motor vehicle operator’s license;
• be willing to locate anywhere within the State of Maine.

Important notes:

YOU MUST ATTACH THE FOLLOWING WITH YOUR DIRECT HIRE APPLICATION:

• proof of age (copy of birth certificate or driver’s license);
• a copy of your high school diploma or GED certificate;
• a letter from the Maine Criminal Justice Academy showing your Pre-Employment Physical Fitness Test results (date of test must be within a year of the closing date of this posting).
• Answers to Supplemental Qualifications form.

Note: If you are only age 20, you must attach within the application proof of your associate degree or completed 60 credit hours of post-secondary education.

FAILURE TO PROVIDE ANY OF THESE MATERIALS WILL RESULT IN FAILURE OF THE MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS.

TESTING AND EVALUATION PROCESS FOR GAME WARDEN RECRUITMENT:

Because of the responsibilities and authority of a Game Warden, the selection process is extensive and thorough. The following outline summarizes the testing and screening process used to evaluate every applicant for Game Warden before a hiring decision is made. The Game Warden application process has changed from past recruitments and the following application and testing process involves multiple evaluation phases. You must successfully complete each phase in order to proceed to the next.

Current full time Maine State Law Enforcement Officers who are Basic Law Enforcement Training Program (BLETP) certified may be exempt from certain components of the application process. – However, BLETP certified candidates are required to have completed the MCJA PFT within a year of applying to this posting.

THE GAME WARDEN TESTING PROCESS IS AS FOLLOWS (all exam dates are tentative):

1. PHYSICAL FITNESS TEST (MCJA): Applicants must take and pass the Pre-Employment Physical Fitness Test within the past year prior to the opening date of this Posting. This may be done by contacting the agency. The Physical Fitness Test is a Pass/Fail test. It consists of three events: Timed Push-Up Test (on minute); Timed Sit-Up Test (one minute); and 1.5 Mile Run. Testing information and standards for successful completion of the Physical Fitness Test are available by accessing the Maine Criminal Justice Academy’s website. There is a fee for this test. Testing is normally scheduled for the third Wednesday of every month at the Maine Criminal Justice Academy (MCJA) in Vassalboro, Maine.

2. GAME WARDEN APPLICATION PERIOD: (December 12, 2025 – TBD) Applications will only be accepted during this period. Applicants are encouraged to submit their application as soon as they have pulled the required materials together.

APPLICATION EVALUATION: Applications are reviewed by Human Resources to ensure that each applicant meets the minimum requirements defined in this Bulletin. Applicants MUST answer all Supplemental Questions (see below) outlined in this posting and attach them to the Application. Any applicant who does not meet these requirements is disqualified from further consideration. Supplemental Qualification Questions are at the end of this posting.

3. GAME WARDEN EXAM PROCESS: All applicants who meet the minimum requirements will be scheduled to take the following exams. The Exams will consist of three phases, a multiple-choice Written Exam along with an Oral Interview and Written Essay. Failure of any phase of these Exams constitutes a failure of the entire hiring process.

• Written Exam - The questions (multiple choice) fall within the following categories; Hunting, Trapping, Fishing, and associated equipment; Mammals, Fish, and Birds of Maine; Watercraft, Snowmobiles, and All-Terrain Vehicles; and General Knowledge. All Exams will be scored, and the top candidates will be scheduled for the next phase (a designated cut off score will be determined).

• Written Essay – The Essay will be evaluated using the following criteria: how well the writer develops a position on the question; appropriate use of examples and reason to support their position; organization, coherence, and logical progression of ideas; facility with choice of language and vocabulary; variety of sentence structure; and correct use of grammar, spelling and mechanics. The Essay will be given a numerical score using a 12-point system. A cut off score will be determined as minimum criteria for passing. Candidates will have the option to either type or handwrite their Essay. The Essay will be scored using a nationally recognized, holistic scoring procedure. There is no right or wrong answer.

• Oral Interview – The Oral Interview is administered by a committee made up from members of the Maine Warden Service. Candidates will be rated in the following categories. Commitment/Independence; Judgment/Logic; Communication Skills; Applied Knowledge; Decision Making/Decisiveness; and Tact and Diplomacy.

Failure to pass either the Written Exam, Written Essay or Oral Interview will constitute a failure for the entire hiring process.

GAME WARDEN EMPLOYMENT REGISTER: Applicants who pass all phases of the application/testing process will be placed on an Employment Register maintained at the Natural Resources Service Center. This register will be used to fill vacancies throughout the State.

FINAL SCREENING PROCESS

After a conditional offer of employment is made, the Maine Warden Service will conduct an extensive background investigation concerning the applicant, including military service, education, motor vehicle record, criminal history record, financial record, work history, and references. A screening committee will review the results for information that would eliminate the candidate from further consideration.

An applicant will automatically be eliminated if they:

1. Have committed any crime classified in Maine law as a Class A, Class B, or Class C crime (any felony)

2. Have been found guilty of any crime classified in Maine law as a Class D crime (a Class D crime is a misdemeanor with a maximum term of imprisonment of 364 days). A person may make application to the Maine Criminal Justice Academy (MCJA) Board of Trustees for a waiver of this provision. Persons with questions regarding this provision should contact the Office of the Game Warden Colonel at 207-287-2766

3. Have an extensive record of motor vehicle or fish and wildlife law violations

4. Have convictions for Murder, Class A, B, C, or D crime, or convictions for any violation of the Maine Criminal Code, Chapters 15, 19, 25, or 45 or a conviction for any equivalent crime in another jurisdiction outside the State of