From the first game wardens in the Everglades, who had to buy their own uniforms and guns, to present-day wildlife officers, who often fulfill the role of police officers, law enforcement in the wild, untamed Everglades has kept pace with changing times. You’re just as likely to find today’s game warden chasing escaped convicts, keeping surveillance on drug runners, or recovering wreckage from a plane crash as arresting deer, turkey, and alligator poachers. And you’re more likely to encounter game wardens who are female and college educated now too. Gone are the days when game wardens were often former lawbreakers themselves and came by their jobs simply because they knew the Glades so well. Ride along on an airboat as it whooshes through sawgrass marshes. Hitch a ride on a track as it chugs and grumbles over the Glades’ rough terrain. Meet the men and women who have dedicated their lives to protecting the wildlife and natural resources in the only Everglades on earth.