WTE: Evanston game warden exemplifies good government

Nick Roberts has been Evanston’s game warden since 2014. He is a central figure in the success of game management in southwest Wyoming.

Success means different things to different people. To the hunters, it might mean putting lean meat in the freezer or teaching a child respect for the land. To the ranchers it means keeping the wild herds from destroying thousands of dollars’ worth of hay. To taxpayers, successful management means fewer dollars spent compensating ranchers, plus healthy, abundant wildlife.

The game warden keeps a pulse on all these needs and many more. He is the face Wyoming Game and Fish. Policies may be set in Cheyenne, but they are carried out by a solitary man in the field. He is responsible not merely for a book of regulations. He is there to bring the policies to life and to strike the balance that the lawmakers intended.

As employees of the state, wardens enforce wildlife and boating statutes passed in the legislature, as well as regulations determined by the Game and Fish Commission. They enforce no federal laws.

Wardens must have, at a minimum, a bachelor’s degree in a field related to wildlife management. They must pass a standardized warden examination and maintain certification as a Wyoming Peace Officer.

A senior warden, like Roberts, has to be a self-starter. With minimal supervision, he is “responsible for fish, wildlife and watercraft law enforcement; wildlife management data collection, interpretation and decisions; addresses human-wildlife conflict resolution, wildlife depredation investigations and injured wildlife calls,” according to the state’s job description.

He deals with a wide array of people and a diverse set of issues. This requires good judgement and thoughtful discretion. A warden can make, or break, the public’s confidence in government.

To be a competent officer begins with understanding what the state is. One must know both its source of authority as well as how that authority is to be used.

Broadly speaking, God Himself is the source of all authority. As St. Paul puts it, “there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God” (Romans 13:1 ESV). The proper use of this authority is “to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good” (1 Peter 2:14).

This, immediately, raises the question: “what is ‘good’?” Categories of good and evil are not arbitrary proclamations of governments. They are objective realities—tied to the reality of God Himself. Government’s responsibility is to understand the objective good and to govern accordingly.

For the Department of Game and Fish, this begins by acknowledging that God has given humankind responsibility to care for the land and the creatures that inhabit it. Within this management, principles such as equitably sharing resources, preventing cruelty and respecting personal property all come into play. While there are no divinely decreed herd sizes or damage compensation, these human judgements cannot float free of the principles at stake.

Just as it is vital to understand these parameters on lawmaking, it is also necessary for peace officers to understand their place in community. Armies are ruled from the top down. Governments are built from the bottom up.

Families are the foundation of every government. Fathers, mothers and children originally had the management responsibility for the land and its animals. When families come together in community, they see the need for cooperation between households. That means governments are best understood as exercising the coordinated authority of the families in their jurisdictions.

The best governmental officers know the diverse families that they serve. They understand their needs and interests. Most of all, they care about them. When the officer is part of the community, those he serves are friends and neighbors.

State laws are a framework for service, not a platform of power. We pay peace officers a salary because we appreciate their help in balancing the needs of a community. They treat people with respect and love because they are like family.

This is the way governments are supposed to work. Governmental institutions may be necessary evils, but the people who serve them are not evil. Properly understood, officers and the citizens they serve are not antagonists, but friends. Heavy-handed government officials tempt citizens to despise government itself. Both the misuse of authority and the hostile reaction are misguided.

Nick Roberts is one example of a way of governing that unites communities rather than divide. He is loved and respected by the rancher as well as the hunter. Even those who don’t know him, can know that he is looking out for their interests behind the scenes.

You may know of such officials in your neck of the woods. When you see them, thank and encourage them. They are gifts from God and living examples of good government.

Also published in the Wyoming Tribune Eagle on January 24, 2020.