WINSLOW — The work of Maine's game wardens is diverse and challenging and takes place during the best and worst of weather conditions. Some of those achievements were recognized March 31 during the Maine Warden Service’s annual awards banquet, recognizing the agency’s 136th anniversary, and giving special recognition to game wardens for their performance in 2015.

Annually, that includes recognition and announcing the recipient of the Maine Game Warden of the Year award. It also include highlighting those who assist the Maine Warden Service during the course of their mission, the legendary game warden of the year, supervisor of the year and the Colonel's Award.

The game warden’s job has changed over the decades, and this year their work included lifesaving events in which game wardens clearly saved human lives. Examples ranged from preventing a heroin overdose and saving a lost person from hypothermia, as well as placing a convicted murderer back in prison. A canine search and rescue team’s case was honored for tracking a missing man and saving his life, while another canine team case brought an intentional fish and wildlife violator to justice by detecting crucial evidence.

In a news release, the Maine Warden Service said it is “proud to be able to honor game wardens who made a distinct difference in people's lives and for conserving Maine's natural resources in 2015.”

The following were recipients of this year's awards.

2015 Maine Game Warden of the Year:
Game Warden Tom McKenney (Norridgewock)

Game Warden Tom McKenney started his career in the Ripogenus Dam district where he patrolled for nearly four years. It was there that Warden McKenney learned to become a well-rounded game warden. He developed a keen eye and his never-quit attitude towards upholding the state's fish and wildlife laws showed through. Tom and his family moved from the Ripogenus Dam district to the Norridgewock district in 2010, where he continues to work today. McKenney was assigned the Norridgewock district and made the transition from being a woods warden to a warden that patrols a much more populated part of the state. Tom handles a high volume of calls for service and continues to aggressively seek out intentional violators and address these issues appropriately. McKenney has developed a very positive rapport with the citizens in his district and they often bring problems to his attention.

From the moment that McKenney started his career as a Maine game warden to present day, he has been the epitome of hard work and consistency. Regardless of the season, time of year, or weather, he starts out every day striving to make a difference and be a positive and hard-working member of his section and of the Maine Warden Service. Because of his proactive approach to warden work that goes above and beyond, his assistance with planning for the future of the Warden Service, his gregarious attitude within the community, the consistency he exhibits, and the deep desire to protect the natural resources of the State of Maine, McKenney was presented the 2015 Maine Game Warden of the Year award.

K9 Search and Rescue of the Year Award:
Jeremy Judd and K9 Tundra (Mechanic Falls)

Search and Rescue Case of the Year details:

On the night of Nov. 20, 2015, a 70-year-old man with dementia was reported missing from his home in New Gloucester. His wife stated that their horses broke out of the pasture that afternoon and she believed that her husband got lost looking for them. They had not seen the missing man for several hours. The Maine Warden Service received the call at 8:30 p.m. The weather was 30 degrees F and dropping.

Game Warden Jeremy Judd was on day-off when he received the call and was asked to respond with K-9 Tundra. When the K-9 team arrived on scene, nearly five hours had passed since the man had wandered off. Many people and search personnel had been out looking for the man, and there was a lot of contamination for a K-9 handler to work through.

Judd quickly deployed K-9 Tundra and began to search. However, he was not aware that the man had a speech disability. Judd found himself following Tundra down a drainage are and to the edge of a brook. He shined his light on the mud along the edge of the brook and realized from the numerous boot tracks that he was searching an area that had been heavily searched by family prior to his arrival.

Judd yelled out for the missing man, and received no response. He decided to take Tundra into an area that had not been previously searched. He turned to leave and called for Tundra to follow him. He glanced back at Tundra just in time to see her climb up and over a steep embankment and disappear into the alders. He looked at the mess Tundra had just climbed into and he doubted anyone would be in there, but he trusted her and followed along.

As he climbed over the embankment, Judd caught sight of Tundra standing at the edge of the brook alongside an elderly man, who was lying down on alders and was partially submerged in the brook. At first glance of the man, it did not look good. However, as he reached the man's location he saw his foot twitch. He spoke to the man, assuring him that he was going to be OK. However, there was no response. Judd immediately identified that the man was extremely hypothermic and needed to be removed from the brook, warmed and transported as soon as possible.

Judd stood in knee-deep water attempting to keep the man's torso out of the water, as he waited for several game wardens to arrive at his location at the brook. Once there, they assisted with the man's successful rescue.

Because of Judd's dedication, work ethic, and ability to trust and accurately interpret K-9 Tundra, he was able to avert a tragedy and quickly save a person who was lost and required help. A family also was reunited with their loved one. For those reasons he was awarded the Maine Warden Service K-9 Search and Rescue Award.

K9 Conservation Case of the Year Award:
Recipient: Kris MacCabe and K9 Morgan (Wilton)

K9 Conservation Case of the Year details:

On the morning of Oct. 24, 2015, Maine's youth deer hunting day, Game Warden Kris MacCabe and K-9 Morgan were called by Warden Tom McKenney to assist with an evidence search at the scene of an alleged youth deer hunting violation.

The complainant described the incident to the wardens and stated that the youth deer hunter exited a vehicle and fired at a deer from a location that was too close to nearby residences and within 10 feet of the paved road. McKenney interviewed the youth hunter's father, who insisted that his daughter was standing more than 100 yards from the two nearby residences. In fact, he led wardens to the area where he said the firearm was discharged, glanced down and located a .223 casing lying on the grass. Additionally, the youth's father happened to have a range finder and measured the distance from the casing to the nearest residence to be 100 yards.

Wardens listened to the father, who just delivered a different scenario from what the credible witness described. Wardens asked the father if he came back to the scene and used his range finder to plant a shell casing a legal distance from residences and he persistently denied the allegation. MacCabe decided, based on a previous encounter with the father, that additional resources were necessary to sort out fact from fiction in this investigation.

MacCabe returned to his truck and deployed K-9 Morgan to search the area more relative to the complainant's description of where the shot was fired from. After a search of the area Morgan located a spent .223 casing within 47 yards of the nearest residence.

After being confronted with this evidence, the youth hunter's father ultimately admitted to returning to the scene with a range finder to locate the legal distance of 100 yards from the nearest residence and planting a spent .223 casing, as evidence in an effort to cover up the youth deer hunting violation that he supervised.

With the discovery of the physical evidence located by MacCabe and K-9 Morgan, McKenney was able to disprove the father's story and charge him with allowing the junior hunter to hunt in violation of Maine's deer hunting laws. More notably, K-9 Morgan provided wardens with the satisfaction of detecting and disproving the charade based on planted evidence.

Because of his perseverance, confidence in his canine's abilities and competence as a K-9 team, MacCabe was awarded the Conservation Case of the Year Award.

Exemplary Service Awards:
Game Warden Sgts. Aaron Cross (Morrill), Alan Gillis (Orrington), Bruce Loring (Enfield), Ethan Buuck (2 awards, Mt. Vernon), Kris MacCabe (2 awards, Wilton), Bob Johansen (2 awards, Millinocket), Tony Gray (2 awards, Oxford), Dave Chabot (Greene), Maine State Trooper Jason Wing, Tim Coombs (Stoneham), Dave Ross (China), Eric Rudolph (Ellsworth), Dave Georgia (Greenfield TWP), Phil Richter (Lamoine), Kyle Hladik (Millinocket), Troy Dauphinee (Shirley), Chad Robertson (Madison), Andrew Smart (Ashland) and Charles Brown (Dyer Brook)

A certificate for Exemplary Service shall be presented when, in the opinion of the Awards Board, a Warden has rendered relevant outstanding service which deserves special recognition.

Maine Warden Association Merit Awards:
Auburn Fire Chief Frank Roma, Lt. Chris Morretto and Erik Poland.

The MWSA Merit Award provides recognition to a civilian(s) for highly meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding service. For the purpose of this award, conduct above the ordinary course of duty, when a civilian, because of individual or team initiative, courage and diligence, provides assistance with the goals and mission of the Maine Warden Service.

Legendary Game Warden Award:
Richard "Dick" Longley (Anson): Served 1945-1968

The Legendary Game Warden of the Year award shall be presented to any retired member of the Maine Warden Service who, consistently in the past, conducted themselves in such a manner as to display exceptional expertise in the areas of conservation law enforcement and since retiring has continued to provide a passion for meeting the goals and mission of the MWS.

Supervisor of the Year:
Lt. Dan Scott (Hampden): Division C - Bangor

The Outstanding Supervisor Award is presented annually to the supervisory officer who has demonstrated superior knowledge and leadership in the area of conservation law enforcement supervision and by doing so has gained the respect of administrators, supervisors, fellow officers, other Department employees, other agencies and the public regarding expertise and performance in the field of supervision.

Colonel's Award:
David Delorme

Presented annually to an individual or individuals who the colonel has determined has/have provided distinguished support and/or service to the Maine Warden Service and/or its mission. (Maine Warden Service Col. Joel Wilkinson.)