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John Russell

John Russell's sports column appears Sundays in Steamboat Today. Contact him at 871-4209 or e-mail jrussell@SteamboatToday.com.

Steamboat Springs — He’s part educator, part ambassador, and the gun on his belt reminds us that he’s also part law enforcement officer.

Last Sunday, I spent the day touring Steve Znamenacek’s office, which stretches north of Hayden across California Park in Colorado. Steve is the district wildlife manager with the Colorado Department of Parks and Wildlife, and he stays busy this time of year visiting hunting camps in his territory and checking to make sure hunters have the required licenses and are following all of the rules and regulations.

I’m glad he’s doing it because I would not have a clue, and the guys Steve deals with all have rifles.

The tour was an eye-opener for this non-hunter. It was an experience that left me with a greater appreciation for the job wildlife officers have, and it made me aware of what the next few weeks mean to all of us who live in this corner of Colorado — even those who don’t hunt.

Hunting, love it or hate it, is a driving force in our community. It brings in lots of people, and it brings in lots of money.

The Department of Parks and Wildlife plays an important role in monitoring hunters and the populations of herds of animals in Colorado. The job these officers do is not always popular with the people they come in contact with, but it is important nonetheless. Those rules were put in place to keep the public safe, to keep the herds healthy and to make sure that the things we all love in Colorado will be around for our children and their children to enjoy.

I’m not a hunter, but I understand the importance of the sport every time I see a deer or elk standing by the road or dead alongside it. I know that controlling the herd keeps animals from starving in the winter.

There is a pretty good chance you are not going to find me hiking around the woods with a rifle thrown over my shoulder looking to kill a trophy elk. The only animals I shoot will become images I treasure on my computer screen or in the paper.

I guess we all hunt in our own ways.

The most important thing is that we respect the job that guys like Steve do every year in Northwest Colorado, that we respect the rules of hunting and respect the great animals that make up our ecosystems. I guess that’s why guys like Steve will continue to patrol places like California Park to teach us all about the wildlife, to promote hunting and to enforce the rules that make hunting fun and safe. We may not all hunt, but the job of wildlife officers affects us all more than we know.

To reach John F. Russell call, 970-871-4209 or email jrussell@SteamboatToday.com