Jerry Davis

Nicholas Engelhardt, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) field warden, now in Columbia County, was working a deer shining detail with Sean Neverman, the warden supervisor of the Devil’s Lake team in Sauk County.
Engelhardt was stationed at Wisconsin Dells at the time this case materialized. The two wardens didn’t have to wait long after they arrived at a spot where they planned to watch for shining activity.

A private landowner and deer hunter was impressed when a Wisconsin DNR game warden, Ben Mott in Waushara County, took the time to work through an incident during the 2024 gun deer season.
Mott grew up in nearby Marquette County, went to UW-Stevens Point, and was first stationed in Milwaukee County 15 years ago. Two years later he transferred to Waushara County, where he has been the past 13 years.
“Two other wardens share tiny portions of Waushara County, but the rest is my district,” Mott said.

DNR game wardens may have dreamed of becoming a field warden because they love being out in Wisconsin’s natural resources. They know protecting those resources comes before personal recreation, and that means working the nine-day gun deer season. Even when moving up within the ranks, “admin” game wardens can expect to work the gun deer season.
While times have changed and some game wardens do hunt deer with a rifle in November, nearly all wardens work during gun deer season instead of taking a large portion of the nine days to put venison in a freezer or trophies on the wall.