A WINDOW INTO THE LIFE OF AN
Oklahoma Game Warden Lincoln County Game Warden Jacob Harriet, a familiar face on the roads, holding up his Masters Degree. All photos provided by JACOB HARRIET
by ALANA OWEN The Oklahoma fall weather offers an opportunity to enjoy some beautiful outdoor activities. The sounds, smells and views are unforgettable. Every September I wake up to the sounds of guns blaring, a quick reminder that dove season has opened. I always think back to the fall of 2006 when my young daughter and husband sat outside our carport on the tailgate of the truck with a limit of doves. There was cleaning, baking, and cooking, along with some placed in the freezer for another day. With fall comes the mating season, a time when we all need to be careful on the roads as the critters are out and about searching for food and reproductive opportunities. Over the years I have had some close calls early in the morning while commuting. I had a horrendous headache one day and was traveling 60 miles per hour down Highway 18B when I looked to my left to see a deer looking at me from right outside the window. After that surreal moment where I momentarily questioned reality, I realized I was lucky my car was not totalled or worse. When I was a child, my father would go off on mysterious trips with his brothers to fish and hunt large game. I was always invited to the local outings, primarily fishing the banks of northern California. Those are such fond memories, and I feel so fortunate that I have my own lake to fish along with numerous other locations throughout Oklahoma to enjoy. Upon learning November was the Thanksgiving and hunting edition, my first thought was to learn about our local game warden. I reached out to discover a remarkable young man by the name of Jacob Harriet. The last thing I expected was a lesson in Oklahoma history, and this month’s journey has been one of my favorites. Jacob grew up in the Wellston area and completed
28 THE CORRIDOR MAGAZINE / NOVEMBER 2021
his bachelor’s degree in wildlife law enforcement and master’s degree in education while working for the wildlife department. Jacob has worked for the wildlife department for over five years, and as game warden for over two. For the first two-and-a-half years he worked at the Conservation Education Area at Arcadia as an Aquatic Education Intern. He always wanted to be a game warden but had to start as an intern while working on his degree. Jacob covers Lincoln County but also assists in surrounding counties as needed. Game wardens have state and federal jurisdiction with full law enforcement capabilities. Jacob’s most common job activity is educating the public and patrolling the countryside in search of wildlife violations. Unless he is officially on vacation, he is on call every day of the week. The most difficult people he deals with fall into two groups: poachers and those who want to save everything. As for the second group, Jacob explained that instead of letting mother nature take its course, some will attempt to save animals who are not normally in harm’s way until people interfere. Because I am an avid horseback rider at local lakes, I asked Jacob what to do to remain safe during hunting season. He was quick to reply that he would not be too concerned as those issues are very uncommon, due to hunters mostly being careful and respectful of others. I also asked about recent mountain lion sightings. Jacob explained that the occasional animal may migrate through but usually not remain in the area. That likely explains why we have not had issues with our livestock except for a few truckloads of teenagers shooting our bull last year during a drive-by. We spoke about wildlife patterns, numbers of turkey
