Fish and Wildlife recruiting volunteers in LA and Orange counties

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife is recruiting volunteers in Los Angeles and Orange Counties to help with natural resource programs.

The volunteers are equivalent to unpaid staff with no law enforcement powers. They're trained to work with hunters, educate the public about conservation and answer questions about wildlife.

Lieutenant Kent Smirl with California's Southern Enforcement Division said volunteers may be assigned tasks such as removing teeth from bear carcasses.

"The law requires bear hunters, when they harvest a bear, to bring the animal in with the head so that we can extract a tooth that's used for management purposes," Smirl said. " They come in [and it] takes time for them to surgically remove the tooth. If a biologist of warden has to do that, it pulls them away from an investigation."

Smirl said volunteers help out the agency's 300  to 400 wardens statewide. He said about 50 to 60 wardens are in Southern California. 

Smirl said volunteers in L.A. And Orange counties are often assigned to coastal areas to help the public identify fish and shorebirds. They are also trained in first aid and learn how to assist at incident command posts in the event of an emergency, such as a fire or oil spill.

"The program emphasizes teaching people the relationship between people and wild animals and how to coexist with them," Smirl said. "We're looking for people that really enjoy teaching others. Those are the types of people that do the best in the program."

Smirl said he started the volunteer program in 2002 in San Diego.

"I've been blessed to go all over the state working with these programs. Interviews with hundreds of volunteers from doctors to lawyers to housewives," he said." That has been probably the greatest experience I've had in my life, knowing that we're leaving something that is going to span California and continue to grow."

This year's Natural Resource Volunteer Program training starts on March 31 in Los Alamitos. Fish and Wildlife encourages those interested in volunteering to apply now to get through the application process before the training starts. The initial training session lasts 5 days.  

Smirl said volunteers "hit the ground running" during their training. They must complete 80 hours of instruction  before they're certified. 

Volunteers must be at least 21 years old.

For more information, contact Lt. Smirl at 714-448-4215. 

Natural Resource Volunteer Program Application