Still no WCO in Cameron County
By James Moate Endeavor News

Another year has dawned without a full-time wildlife conservation officer (WCO) or deputy serving Cameron County.

Doty McDowell, one of two Pa. Game Commission WCOs in Elk County, continues to cover Cameron with the assistance of McKean County's Tom Sambolcik. McDowell says that while he enjoys working in Cameron County, the commute from his St. Marys residence can be a burden at times.

"The key is getting to know the people, the area and the wildlife," McDowell said. "That's difficult unless you live in an area and work there."

WCO Travis Anderson was assigned to Cameron County for a short time, but relocated to Somerset County for personal reasons. Before Anderson, Clint Deniker and Wes Stauffer each held the position for relatively short periods of time.

There are currently 22 WCO cadets are being trained by the Game Commission to fill more than 30 WCO openings in the state. There's no guarantee that the Cameron County vacancy will be filled in March when they graduate.

Training lasts for 48 weeks. New WCOs receive a starting salary of roughly $37,000 plus benefits.

One change that would help WCOs McDowell and Sambolcik would be the recruitment of deputies to serve in Cameron County. Currently, there are none.

"Deputies make our job a lot easier," McDowell said. "I can understand why people might be reluctant. Deputies do have to spend a lot of time, money and resources, for little in return. They're not in it for the money -- they do it out of a love of nature and a desire to help."

He pointed out that the Game Commission is not just a hunting and law enforcement agency.

"Basically, a WCO handles anything that occurs in the area dealing with wildlife," McDowell said.

McDowell said any new WCO assigned to Cameron County would probably find the job to be fulfilling.

"Cameron County is the perfect place to be," he said. "Not only are the people great, but there is some flexibility and you can get more involved with wildlife work. I hope that the one of the cadets is assigned to Cameron County full-time, because the people certainly deserve it."