STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) - Emily Long loves her job.
She is Payne County’s first female game warden and only the fourth female game warden in the state.
“Patrolled for dove hunters,” Long said when asked what work she performed one day this month, the Stillwater News Press reported (https://bit.ly/1nJmO0C ).
People were interested in these podcasts
Many people are confused in their teen years - maybe even college years - about what career to pursue, but not Long.
“I knew by the time I was in seventh grade this would be my path,” she said.
The path to becoming a game warden isn’t easy. Game wardens are constantly in the public eye, primarily enforcing the state’s fishing and wildlife laws. Long is expected to know all there is to know about hunting, fishing, wildlife laws, wildlife management, camping, woodcraft, other outdoor activities and county-specific information.
There are tests, interviews and a one-year probation period, if hired.
Long didn’t shy away from completing a CLEET certified course, which gives her the power of a police officer to enforce laws. It was there she met her husband, now a highway patrolman.
Long said they have the same unit number, but “that’s about as cute as we get.”
She doesn’t work from an office, either. She works from a pickup provided by the Department of Wildlife Conservation. The truck is fully stocked with a rifle, shotgun, ticket books, applications, hunting and fishing guidelines, trauma kits, first aid kits, county radio, light bar and sirens.
Every day is different.
Long recalls her first year on the job at 22 years old. One call that stood out was when an SUV was abandoned, locked and had two dead deer in the back seat. A poacher drove from Oklahoma City to Long’s jurisdiction, Harmon County, to kill deer.
Now 27, Long doesn’t tire of working weekends, and refers to herself as being independent.
“I enjoy a lot of freedom in my work,” she said. Saturday she helped teach a course for hunting licenses.
“I love what I do,” she said. “I can’t imagine doing anything else.”
___
Information from: Stillwater News Press, https://www.stwnewspress.com
Please read our comment policy before commenting.