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What Does a Game Warden ACTUALLY Do? Inside Augusta's Ducks Unlimited Greenwings Program
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Ever wondered what a game warden actually does day-to-day? In this episode of the Blanchard and Calhoun podcast, host Jamie sits down with Game Warden Cory Bohannon to pull back the curtain on life in law enforcement "off the pavement" — and to talk about one of the most exciting youth outdoor programs in the CSRA: the Augusta Green Wings program through Ducks Unlimited.
Hey there, it's Jamie with Blanchard and Calhoun here with another podcast episode. So today I have the pleasure of interviewing Corey Bohanan, who is a game warden. Um, and Corey's gonna go over some cool stuff with Ducks Unlimited in the Green Wing program, is that right?
SPEAKER_00That's correct. Thank you for having me.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, absolutely. So first, I gotta ask, what does a game warden do?
SPEAKER_00Oof. Depends on where you are in the state. Uh we do mainly we do boat, everything, boating, hunting, fishing, obviously. We do and we enforce environmental laws, uh, uh anything to do with artifacts, um, and other state laws, since we are state law enforcement as well. So there's a broad range that a game warden can cover in a day for sure.
SPEAKER_02Okay. What's what is like a typical day look like?
SPEAKER_00That's a great question. I always get asked. My answer is it's not there's never a same day. Okay. Um it's different, it's law enforcement off the pavement, right? So um you could be any, you you know, you wake up, you have your plan for the day, and you, you know, if you're gonna just go check fishing license that day, you go to your normal spots and stuff like that. And then, you know, 10 minutes later you could be assisting your local sheriff's department or uh other state uh law enforcement agency on doing a search warrant or anything like that. So it it really varies. There's no typical day. I like to say that most of your normal law enforcement, nothing against those guys, thank God for them. We need them. Right. Um, it's nothing, it's not the same thing every day. It's uh with as being a game warden. I like to say it's something different every hour.
SPEAKER_02So okay. So if you were like, do you have a spot you go check fishing licenses?
SPEAKER_00Well, I cover five counties in the CSRA area. I cover Columbia, Wilkes, McDuffie, Warren, and Lincoln County. And then also included that we have Clarksill Lake and then uh part of the Savannah River. So we have um a game warden per county in our work section. We're very lucky because not every work section has a game warden per county. Um we have a great group group of guys. We work together really well, communicate, and we try to uh do whatever the public needs us to do and and whatever the department needs us to do every day.
SPEAKER_02So well that's awesome.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_02I mean, obviously, you know, you do a lot, you give back to the community because that's how I initially met you was through the Georgia Lina, you know, outdoor dream foundation. Um, and obviously you give back there, but I know that's how we kind of started talking about this opportunity to just talk about Ducks Unlimited and the Augusta Green Wings program. So why don't you tell us a little bit about the program and the correlation or connection with Ducks Unlimited?
SPEAKER_00Okay, yeah. I mean, just a little bit about me. I um I I was in the military but uh prior to becoming game warden and um I used my time uh as wisely as possible while while uh being active duty and wherever, no matter where I would travel to, I would always try to volunteer somewhere, uh whether it would be a homeless shelter or some kind of youth program or something like that. Or we used to make these little kits out of outwood cans. I'm not even sure if they make those anymore, but the little metal tin cans would be you elaborate.
SPEAKER_02What are we doing with the tins?
SPEAKER_00And then I would put fishing line in them with hooks. And then if we go to like a foreign country or something like that, uh most of the time we would go to like Haiti or Dominican Republic, and uh uh kids would be swimming up to us once we got close to the shore, and usually we were handing out candy and stuff like that. And I was like, Well, you know, that's not really doing anything for these for these kids and families. So we started making these uh little fishing cases, and we'd hand those out so they they would have us some supplies to catch some food and survive on, you know.
SPEAKER_02You'll have to get us like a picture of that.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah, I have to do some digging. That was many years ago, but um no, I always uh try to find a find a way to give back, and that's something I lot I love about uh Ducks Unlimited is that uh not only were it protecting our natural resources, we're also giving back to the community and providing opportunities for for the youth uh to get in the outdoors, and that's where Greenlings comes in. It is uh it is a youth-focused program, 17 years old and younger. Okay, and once you become a Green Leen member uh by signing up, um you will get some some I like to say swag in the mail. You'll be officially a Ducks Unlimited member, uh Greenlings member. So you get a card and you'll get some uh pub Puddler magazines, uh, and that's uh Ducks Unlimited focused. And um, and if you come to some of our events, I like to always um you know always give back to the to the kids as well and make it enjoyable and memorable for them. So you I mean you could gain anything from t-shirts, fishing rods, uh hats, stuff like that, you name it, stickers, and all that stuff. So cool.
SPEAKER_02So to join, you just have to be 17 years or younger, and you can be any other requirements? Is there a cost to join?
SPEAKER_00Uh so usually there is a $15 cost per uh per child, 17 and under. Um, but if you come to our events, our local chapter, Augusta uh Ducks Unlimited, uh if you come to any of our events or expos, um, we will cover that cost for you. So that's another thing I like. We have a really great chapter president and a really great committee. I can't um thank those guys enough for um when I came to them, I was actually um asking if they could assist me with a with an idea I had, and those guys come with open arms and uh actually brought me on board and I got to I get to be a part of the committee now. So we're running we're running with this uh green wing thing now.
SPEAKER_02Okay, that sounds awesome. So what does the Green Wings program teach kids like you know, about conservation, the outdoors?
SPEAKER_00Right. So um the Augusta Green Wings chapter, uh, we're you we're within the past like year or so that uh that I've been part of the committee, um, we've really tried to open up to several different ideas. How how can we instead of like setting up a booth or something and just them coming by and hopefully signing up and you know then I mean they get really cool stuff in the mail, uh and kids love getting stuff in the mail. Sure. Um my kids do so, uh especially from Amazon. It's so weird, but um I love Amazon. But not only, you know, we wanted to do something different and give um and me having kids myself, uh especially a daughter. My first idea was like, Well, what can we do? Can we have like a dad and daughter thing? Uh, because there's not many, uh I haven't found really any many opportunities for that. Um, and also since it is 1700, what can what can you know a two-year-old do alongside a 17-year-old. So uh this past weekend we actually had our first kids fishing event. Um, and we had a little guy out there, he had an amazing time, it seemed like, and uh, we had some a couple or kids, and it was really nice seeing what uh what you put together, the guys that put together uh to go towards this event. We also can't I can't thank uh uh the wildlife resource division at the public fishing area um enough because they really accepted us and said, yes, we'd love to have y'all and um all their hard work going into the kids' fishing ponds and all that stuff. So we I mean we got to take over and take their fish as well. So we had about 30 kids this past uh weekend and uh there was more than you know 50 fish caught. So it was a real good turnout, and that's another thing I like about um this green wing uh program is that all the funds that we receive from our expos or events and stuff like that, donations, um, it goes 100% goes back into the program. So we took a little bit of the funds that uh we we had uh saved up and we served uh hot dogs and hamburgers for the for the crowd. So they got not only got to catch fish for free, they got uh to sign up for free and they got fed. So you can't that's a pretty good day, if you ask me.
SPEAKER_02And I mean last weekend we had some great weather.
SPEAKER_00Yes, Saturday was awesome.
SPEAKER_02So I'm sure they all had a great time. And so how long did this event kind of go on for?
SPEAKER_00So we did. We were there between like nine o'clock uh or eight o'clock. We started around eight o'clock setting everything up, and we got in out of there around uh a little after one o'clock. So I mean there was plenty of time to to do it, and we're we're only gonna grow from here. So we we already got some uh we're already looking at our future events um for for this year and see what else we can we can do.
SPEAKER_02And you said this was the first one, right?
SPEAKER_00This is the first fishing one. Okay, the very first event that uh put together along with uh WRD as well. Um we actually got to um they captured some ducks um to band. And um if we're not familiar familiar with a band is I'm so glad you've said that to us. Uh it's actually, you know, in the in the uh hunting world, it is uh like a trophy deer. It's a trophy. So if you harvest a uh uh any waterfowl with a band on it, you got you basically got a trophy, which you know people can go their whole lives and never harvest a uh duck with a band on it. So uh we actually got the kids out there and they actually got to put the bands on the ducks. They just uh put it on their legs and release them and into the wild. And with that, the band uh has numbers on it, and it um once you harvest that duck, you can report that band and it will tell you when that duck was banded, whether it was a male or female, uh, and where it was banded. So I've um I've seen bands reported personally um from Ch all the way from China. Wow uh in Michigan. Um a lot of you know local birds since they are banded will be harvested in that area, um Canada. They'll be banded there and fly, and it's it's pretty awesome because you know they hop on the flyway and just travel, go all over the place.
SPEAKER_02That's just that's wild because I would have, yeah, like I would have never even thought about that concept.
SPEAKER_00Right.
SPEAKER_02Right?
SPEAKER_00Because I mean So that little project that we did, I mean, we made we made a big impact. Um you got the kids outdoors, you got they got to do something that n normally normal people don't get to do every day. Right. Um, and we also helped the uh wildlife population in tracking and reporting.
SPEAKER_02How cool, how cool. Well, and obviously you're bringing families together, right? Which um sounds like it's something that's important to the organization you're a part of.
SPEAKER_00Well, that's the most important thing is getting not only you know just dropping your kids off and um just letting them go at it and then asking them about it afterwards, we're we're bringing the parents in too so they can they can contribute and actually have a fun moment with their kids in the outdoors.
SPEAKER_02Absolutely. And how has the community responded to it?
SPEAKER_00Man, this uh this community um in this area is absolutely awesome. Yeah, um, I can't I can't say enough about them, you know, being being involved with Georgia Lion Outdoor Dream Foundation and Ducks Unlimited and actually being a game warden too. Um not everybody likes to see a game warden when they're outdoors, but we try we try to uh change their their mindset. Um especially, you know, I make a contact make contact with somebody outdoors and I'm in uniform and you can kind of see it on their face and they're like, oh man, it's the game warden. And you know, I always my goal is to make sure um whether it's a good or bad outcome, I always try to make sure that I'm leaving with with a smile on someone's face. Right. Um I did that uh when in the uh in the Coast Guard. I I'm gonna carry that legacy on through DNR and and uh hopefully we can get some folks to whether it's good or bad, like I said, to make sure that they're happy to see the game warden, because that's what that's our number one thing is making sure that we're there for the public. That's where s we serve the public. Uh we we need them uh just as much as they need us.
SPEAKER_02For sure. Well, and you probably to a certain extent want kids to not just look up to you and not be afraid of you, right? But to like be excited about what you do and maybe follow in your footsteps.
SPEAKER_00That's right. And uh I've actually I've had t uh tons of kids and that and and that's what I have to say about being a game board, and not only are you get I get to do law enforcement, which I love to do, and um, but also get to continue to to serve serve the youth um and provide some type of mentor to someone. Um you know, if I say something to you know, their mother or father about not having a fishing license or something like that, and they're I'm uh having a a good conversation with them and um they're you know kids they're very observant, so uh we gotta be mindful of that, and they may, you know, we may be the coolest person in the world uh uh for them at that time and they're gonna remember that con uh that conversation and and how you present yourself.
SPEAKER_02So absolutely. I mean, I'm trying to think about I think there's only been one time I had an interaction with a game warden, and it was just to check my fishing license, which I did have. Um, but I was I mean I was kind of scared, even though I knew I had my license, I I'm just terrified of getting in trouble, right? Right.
SPEAKER_00So I just automatically assume that I mean that's the same thing as you know, you see everybody if you're going down the road, you could be going 10 under the speed limit, and as soon as you see a uh, you know, a law enforcement officer, it's like because everybody wants to go faster. Everybody wants to do the right thing. It's not that because you're scared or of getting in trouble or just scared of you know a police officer. It's just because uh in my in my mind and in my heart, I think everybody wants to do the right thing.
SPEAKER_02I would hope so. Yeah, that's I mean, that's definitely the community, you know, we wanna we wanna be a part of.
SPEAKER_00That's right, right. But yeah, talking about the community, sorry, yeah, the the community is awesome. I mean, uh especially for our Ducks Unlimited program. Um at our at our events and expos, uh just the donors in this area are just tremendous.
SPEAKER_01That's awesome.
SPEAKER_00Just to, I mean, I will I'll I'll name a few like Culpeppers, uh Culpepper Outdoors, you got Harry's, uh, he's always been in the you know the outdoor world. Um and then and Promatex as well. Um I'm I met the owner of Promatex uh Mr. Thomas, and uh he's he's just an awesome guy and always willing to help. So and that's just to name a few. That's not uh no, I could probably sit here for a little while and I'm sure everybody that uh loves to be a part of the Ducks Unlimited program and and uh the youth pro uh our youth program, Green Wings, um they're just so happy to for us to be here and we're we're happy to be here.
SPEAKER_02So well, so speaking of like community involvement, volunteers, all of that, I mean, what can the community do? Like what are you looking for that the community organizations who want to be a part of the Ducks Unlimited and Green Wings program, what can they do for you?
SPEAKER_00So the biggest thing is, I mean, if they want to volunteer and be a part of the committee, we you know, we could always use extra hands setting up for the the Augusta Wild Outdoor Expo is is a task. Not only are you know the vendors are in there uh setting up, but we're also making sure that uh the vendors have what they need, tables, chairs, um, any banners or anything like that uh that they they may need to kind of present themselves. And and that's our main focus is making sure that not only we're providing something for um uh people to showcase their business, uh we're making sure that we're we're there helping them out and letting them know that we're gonna be there the whole way. But yeah, just volunteering uh at any of our events, our Ducks Unlimited events, our Green Wing events, that's that's huge when it within itself because we uh we are a small group of men and women in the area and we we meet once a week when we have some big stuff coming up, months in advance. So we really prepare and make it make sure that we are putting the best foot forward and providing a good uh location for people to come and enjoy in the in the area, and then uh donations, obviously.
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_00Um, everything costs something. So uh the donations that uh we get from these events and uh the expo, like I said, it goes right back into hosting another event for expo, and we try to make that as cheap as possible, if not free.
SPEAKER_02Okay, and so for the expo, how many different businesses do you guys have right now?
SPEAKER_00I think this last uh Augusta Wild Outdoor Expo, I want to say we had over 50 vendors.
SPEAKER_02Wow, that's a lot.
SPEAKER_00And we're and the biggest thing is we're trying to grow, we're trying to make it you know huge. Uh the year before it was only a one-day event. This year we already moved to a two-day event. We doubled the size of the room. Um, and then uh this fall we're um we're opening up another, it's a higher end event. We we have an oyster roast that uh you you know you get a table and come and you get it's all you can eat oysters, and great. We have all kinds of auctions and stuff like that. So hopefully you're leaving there with something.
SPEAKER_02Do you have details on that yet or not quite yet?
SPEAKER_00On the oyster roast, uh buddy's probably gonna get a hold of me at the next meeting, but uh there is a date set uh without having to look at my phone. But just uh the biggest thing you just look at look uh follow us on Facebook. Perfect. Uh Ducks Unlimited, Augusta Ducks Unlimited, and Augusta Green Wings. That's that's our main source of information right now. And um we try to email all the uh members uh to send out an email just as a reminder hey, we got events coming up. Um don't miss out.
SPEAKER_02So and the easiest, I know you mentioned the easiest way is for um parents, kids to just go there, sign up.
SPEAKER_00That's right, yeah. So if you if you I mean you can sign up now there every day, you can uh go to uh you know just Google Ducks Unlimited um Green Wing program and you can sign your kid up there. Uh like I said it is $15, uh, but you're gonna receive a lot and just $15 um with just fifty fifteen dollars. Or you can, you know, we got we have information posted on our on our Facebook page as well that you can uh go to and uh like I said, if you go to our events, we we uh usually cover the cost for those memberships.
SPEAKER_02Awesome. So speaking of events, because obviously you guys have a ton of stuff going on, you want to get kids involved, the community, other organizations who probably love helping support organizations like yours. Um what other events do you have coming up that we should know about so that these parents can get their kids sign up?
SPEAKER_00And so I'll it's it's gonna be a work in a progress because just like the the fishing event, you never know. Um you could put all this work into it and hope for a hundred kids to show up and we may get one or two, which is totally fine because we're we're just excited to be there and offer something. Um but I'll spill the beans a little bit. But we are planning a uh youth dove hunt.
SPEAKER_02Ooh, okay. So what else can you tell us about that?
SPEAKER_00So I mean we got we have a uh we have some private land. Uh that's all that always helps out, you know. I don't, you know, a donation of uh private land or a pond or something like that. We can bring kids to um we have private land available and we're gonna be hard at work. Uh we got a little bit of rain today, so that's gonna soften the soil up a little bit so we can get some things planted and monitor, monitor those and then uh just prepare for the dove hunt and make sure we're um burning and doing all the correct ag ag agricultural practices uh for this dove hunt and and uh we'll have you know a pay of another parent and kid event for them to come to.
SPEAKER_02Now, for for something like the dove hunt, um, do you have to have kids who are experienced, who know what they're doing, or can you know a kid who's never done it who wants to try it?
SPEAKER_00So we're gonna we're gonna set it as an adult, one adult, one kid ratio for safety purposes. Um I'm sure we'll have um obviously I'll be there and then uh our local game wardens, uh I'm sure they'll they're gonna help out and uh make sure we're all being safe. And but yes, um you you don't necessarily have to have um shooting experience. So hopefully, I mean hopefully we're seeing you know three, four-year-olds out there with their parent. Right. The parent can shoot too, that's totally fine. Um but if the uh the child can shoot, we would prefer them to uh to shoot the doves um and just leave with a smile on their face, that's all we can ask for.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, absolutely. Well, that sounds super fun. We'll definitely have to check back in with you and kind of help get that out. Um especially for because uh uh you know, on the Blanchard and Calhoun side, um, a lot of times we, you know, people are like, oh, what's going on in the community? What are things to do there to do for kit for my kids? And so it'd be nice to add, you know, kind of this whole sector of it. Right. Um, that's maybe not going to a jump place or you know, go going and get ice cream, but to actually get them outdoors and participating. And then also obviously learning a little bit about like conservation in general, right? That's correct. Can you speak a little bit more about that?
SPEAKER_00Right. So that's uh that's another thing we try to, you know, fill in depending on the times and the number of people that we have uh going on. Um like at that Augusta Outdoor Expo, I got to have my own little area and I had anywhere from, you know, I had some duck boxes out there, uh, so we got to talk to I recruited my 11 year old um to uh man the station there. We had a bunch of uh animal uh skins and furs out there, so he got to talk about each animal and and uh they're native to Georgia and talk about the duck boxes and what they really do. And then we had a duck blind st uh station where you we had a bot big blind set up and you got to grass in the blind and uh I attempted my first um face painting area. We had a donation with uh hardy paints. Um did you do it yourself? I did. Oh did I pa paint my face?
SPEAKER_02Well no no no did you paint the kids' face?
SPEAKER_00Oh yes, yes. We probably did over a hundred uh face paintings like that. How'd you do? I think I did also uh maybe the kids didn't think so. The ones that come back uh you know ten bit ten minutes later without uh paint on their face. Right, right. Obviously, uh they changed their minds real quick. But uh thought I did pretty good. Um the face paint was awesome because it dries immediately and uh I'm not sure if you've ever worn face paint uh and you usually have to scrub it off with this particular face paint, you could just wipe it right off.
SPEAKER_02Okay, so you guys heard here they're looking for an artist to do some face painting, right? Only they have to be only as good as Corey is.
SPEAKER_00Yes, and that I so I made I made sure I had uh a couple designs laid out and we caught it a uh a waterfowl or wildlife edition face painting. So uh it was more hunting, hunting related uh stripes, easy stuff, right? Uh then also one of the local artists, uh artist uh jazz, she helped us with a great idea. We had we did have deco uh plastic decoy uh decoy donations, which was awesome because we never would have been able to do this, but we got to set those decoys out on tables and kids got to paint those decoys, whatever color they wanted, whatever idea they had, and then they also got to take them home with them. That's awesome. So I'm sure a lot of trophies uh from dads and moms got moved off the wall for this colorful plastic duck.
SPEAKER_02Right.
SPEAKER_00Um that's what I encouraged them to do. Um, but they got to do that, and then uh, oh Lord, um I had we I did a project with Augusta University uh with their medical illustration team. We had those uh we made some uh wildlife posters and like um informational posters and stuff like that. And I got to present those and um so that was up there, and we had a uh one of our canines, canine officers come and I got to get bit by uh a canine, so we did a canine demo and we should do that again. So it was just awesome having that little area and it was off to the side, away from like the big sh uh bender area and stuff like that, and kids could walk in and just kind of have a little play area and that's awesome. Got to do a lot of things.
SPEAKER_02So I love that. Well, it sounds like you guys are just doing tons of stuff, right? And it's only gonna be growing.
SPEAKER_01That's right.
SPEAKER_02So why don't you tell just our listeners in our community again how we can help you or what you're looking for, and maybe we can make some connections and get you guys what you need to grow.
SPEAKER_00Right. Yeah, like I said, with the uh any volunteers that we could get, any donations that we uh can get, like I said, we're we're planting these this dove hunting. So even if you want to donate a bag of sunflower uh sunflower seeds uh to to plant or uh some sorghum or something like that, like we could plant in this these fields. Um if you got a tractor, cool. We can use a tractor. So like I said, it's gonna be the first time that we did this for this event. So any kind of type of donation if you have items. Um I got a uh huge donation from um someone in the area. I'm not sure if he wants me to say his name, but uh he donated uh 72 fishing rods.
SPEAKER_02Wow.
SPEAKER_00So that that's awesome within itself, and uh they're they're youth fishing rods, and uh I can hand those out uh as prizes, or um when I'm a few years ago I started as a game warden uh wherever I was traveling around, I would put some uh kids' fishing rods in my truck, and anybody anytime I seen a kid out there with their parent or something like that, or a military child or something uh new to the area and they didn't have them fishing rod, I would give them a fishing rod. That's awesome. So I can use those for that. Um anything you can think of, tackle little tackle boxes, fishing rods. Um we want to continue the duck uh decoy painting. So if you got some old waterfowl decoys you're not using, you want to clean your wife wants you to clean out the closet and and uh get rid of those, we'll take more of those. Anything you can think of uh that a kid would enjoy. Um, or if you just want to clean out some hunting related items, I'm sure we can think of something to do with it on the youth youth side. So yeah, biggest thing is volunteering and and donations.
SPEAKER_02Okay, and if they have a donation, who do they need to call? How do they get in touch with you?
SPEAKER_00You can just message us directly on the uh Augusta Green Wings Facebook page. Perfect. Uh myself and um one of our uh committee members, Ray Bolin. Um got kind of like he's another shout-out. He does, he's a man of um he's uh a little mix between uh McGyver and um Chuck Norris. Okay, yeah, so he's he's pretty useful. He can do it all. He he does everything. So and um can't thank him enough. Um my kids are already calling Uncle Ray, so yeah, he's uh he does the same thing every time we we do a youth event, he's usually bringing something for the committee members' kids. So he he's an awesome guy and uh buddy as well. Um all our committee members are awesome, but yeah, any anytime if you got any ideas, if you got any ideas, say hey, you know, I was in, I don't know, Tennessee or something and I seen this. Uh can't you know this may be a great idea that you that could work for the Green Wing program, and we're willing to try anything that uh helps the kids uh get outside and educate them as well.
SPEAKER_02So that's awesome. Well, Corey, thank you so much for sharing a little bit more about the Augusta Green Wings program, the connection in Ducks Unlimited, um, and hopefully our community will be able to support you back in everything that you guys are doing. Um do you have anything else to add?
SPEAKER_00No, just thank you. Thank you to the CSRA area. Um can't thank you enough. Continue to do what you guys do, support us all the way. We're trying to make a big impact in the area and not only for the you know kids and adults, but also for our uh natural resources.
SPEAKER_02Perfect. Well, you heard it here from Corey. Follow them on Facebook, Augusta Green Wings, right? And Ducks Unlimited, the Augusta chapter. Keep up with their events, and then we hope to see you there.