Ron Waugh of Preeceville, conservation officer with the Department of Natural Resources, made his retirement official after 39 years with the department. April 30 was Waugh’s last day as a conservation officer and was met with mixed emotion from Waugh.
“I have never regretted joining the department,” said Waugh. “In high school I always loved being outdoors, hunting and fishing. Being involved in the career that echoed that passion and protecting wildlife was an easy choice for me. Being a conservation officer has had its highs, lows and challenges that surrounded political and environmental issues,” he said.
Waugh attained his diploma in Renewable Resource Technology from Kelsey Institute of Applied Arts and Sciences in Saskatoon on 1976. He started employment in the public service in May of 1979 as a Security Worker at Pike Lake Provincial Park. He was married in 1977 and the couple raised a family.
In August of 1979, he moved his family to Strasbourg and worked as a Conservation Officer at Rowan’s Ravine Provincial Park.
In September of 1981, he moved to Maple Creek and worked at Cypress Hills Provincial Park, followed by three years in Pelly from April 1984 to 1988.
In August of 1988, Waugh was promoted and moved to Pierceland where he was in charge of the west end of Meadow Lake Provincial Park.
In October of 1990, he was promoted and moved to Preeceville as the district manager.
“There have been many changes over the years,” said Waugh. “It seemed like every few years we went through a department/ministry name change. We were Tourism and Renewable Resources; Parks and Renewable Resources; Parks, Recreation and Culture; Natural Resources; Environment and Resource Management, and now, Environment,” he said.
The primary focus of the job was initially fish and wildlife management and enforcement, stated Waugh. When in Pelly, Pierceland and Preeceville, there were forestry and fire related duties as well.
“I can remember at a spring fire meeting while at Pelly, that we were told that we would be getting weather data over a telephone line that was to be printed on paper when received. I remember thinking ‘how is that possible?’ That was my introduction to my first fax machine. Other technology upgrades through the years included cell phones and computers,” stated Waugh.
In 1997, the Ministry went through a big re-organization that saw many of the district manager jobs abolished across the province, which included Preeceville. Promotional positions became almost non-existent.
It was about this same time that sidearms were issued to officers across the province. A psychological screening process was part of this roll-out along with more significant annual training, he said.
Through the late 90’s and going into the early 2000’s, conservation officers started to see an increase in “environmental” duties. Issues related to landfills, stubble burning, channel clearing, manure spreading and others.
“I don’t recall exactly when, because it was in the early years of my career, that the 24-hour Turn in Poachers (T.I.P) Line was set up. Officers were now expected to take after hour calls around the clock
“A more recent change, which made the decision to retire easier, was that conservation officers are now part of a provincial protection and response team. The expectation is that officers, if available and called upon, will respond to reports/occurrences where there is a threat to public safety,” concluded Waugh.
In his retirement Waugh wants to spend more time getting back to the basics of hunting, fishing and camping for his own personal purpose. He also hopes to spend more time with his grandkids, teaching and sharing his passion for the outdoors.
