DNR needs items to help establish game warden museum at Camp Ripley (2005-02-01)

Game warden or conservation officer uniforms, badges, gun belts - these seemingly common items collectively constitute the fabric of Minnesota's game warden or conservation officer heritage. Sadly, these artifacts and many other items related to game warden history are disappearing with time as the current owners and game warden family members lose and discard them.

An effort is underway to stop it from happening. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is establishing a Game Warden Museum at Camp Ripley to preserve such keepsakes for posterity.

"It is our hope to establish a small museum for display, and a safe repository for storage, of all our materials, uniforms, precious photos and irreplaceable records," said DNR Enforcement Chief Conservation Officer Mike Hamm. "But before we can do that, we need donations of game warden/conservation officer items for display."

The museum will accept game warden artifacts of virtually all kinds. Donated items may not go on immediate exhibit but will be preserved in a fashion befitting the tradition they symbolize, the proud legacy of Minnesota's game wardens and conservation officers.

Items desired include game and fish law books, uniform patches, letters, scrapbooks, unpublished journals, diaries and memoirs and photographs. They should be labeled or annotated if possible. Films, videotapes, audiotapes, records, and similar material may also be suitable, as are as posters, programs, advertisements, equipment, etc.

In 1887, the state Legislature confronted a difficult situation: wholesale disregard of fish and game laws by hunters and anglers and lack of enforcement of these same laws by local sheriffs and constables.

To remedy this situation, the Legislature created the office of chief game warden. In the beginning it was just one man riding alone on horseback, sometimes for days. At that time Minnesota was a huge, sparsely populated area. As the state grew and prospered, the game warden service grew to meet the recreational needs of the people. Soon horses gave way to motorcycles, model-T Fords, and they in turn to aircraft, snowmobiles and ATVs.

In 1967, the Minnesota game warden service became the Division of Enforcement. Game wardens were called conservation officers to reflect expanded responsibilities.

A group recently met at Camp Ripley to discuss creation of a museum to honor the men and women who joined Minnesota's "Thin Green Line" of game wardens and conservation officers.

The Minnesota Game Warden Historical Society was established in December 2004 through the joint efforts and vision of both serving and retired game wardens, conservation officers and support staff.

The mission of the museum is to preserve the colorful history of Minnesota DNR enforcement through its records, photos, artifacts, documents and memories, and to ensure this heritage remains available to future generations of Minnesotans.

Artifacts can be dropped off at the DNR Enforcement Education and Training Center at Camp Ripley or mailed to "Game Warden Museum," DNR Enforcement Training Center, 15011 Hwy 115, Little Falls, MN 56345. All donated items will be utilized in the best interest of the museum.

"The protecting and preserving of Minnesota's natural resources has always been a community partnership and we hope that preserving our history will be as well," Hamm said. "Donating artifacts to the game warden museum will help preserve our legacy for future generations."

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