County wildlife officer and his appreciation of nature

Ever since he was a child, Brad Kiger has loved the outdoors.

From hunting and fishing to kayaking and camping, he’s passionate about it all. It was this passion that drew him to pursue a career in wildlife. Today, Westerville resident Kiger is proud to hold the title of wildlife officer for Franklin County.

As Franklin County’s wildlife officer, a role he has held since 2001, Kiger wears many hats. His main duty is enforcing wildlife laws throughout the county. He’s responsible for everything wildlife-related that happens in Franklin County, which mainly consists of protecting Ohio’s wildlife and educating people about wildlife.

Among Kiger’s responsibilities are:

  • Enforcing wildlife rules and regulations, such as bag limit, license and permit checks, hunting regulations, and fishing regulations;
  • Arresting people on private and all state-owned or administered and agreement lands in violation of hunting, fishing, trapping, litter, firearms regulations and all other laws and regulations falling within scope of jurisdiction;
  • Serving summonses and executing warrants;
  • Preparing affidavits;
  • Testifying in court;
  • Monitoring and inspecting license-issuing agents for compliance;
  • Conducting preliminary stream litter and water pollution investigations;
  • Conducting inspections of fish kills and collecting water samples on fish kill-related incidents;
  • Responding to complaints from landowners concerning trespassing by hunters, trappers and others; and
  • Preparing required reports.

Another component of his job as wildlife officer is education. Kiger teaches hunting and firearm safety; conducts fishing, hunting, trapping and waterfowl identification clinics; speaks to sports and conservation clubs, school groups and other organizations; prepares news releases; and even appears on radio and TV programs to educate people about wildlife.

Finally, as Franklin County’s wildlife officer, Kiger also conducts game and fish management activities, which include specimen collection, wildlife surveys, creel and bag limit checks, and habitat management.

Though Kiger is in his dream job now, the path to get there wasn’t always smooth. When Kiger attended The Ohio State University, he pursued a degree in forestry. However, as he prepared to graduate, he discovered that he needed one more class that wasn’t offered until the following year.

As a result, Kiger ended up staying at OSU for an additional year. He took this opportunity to sign up for classes he thought would be fun, not simply classes he was required to take. A few of these were wildlife classes – and Kiger fell in love.

“I took several wildlife classes and loved them. That’s when I knew what I was going to do with my life,” Kiger says. “After graduation, I applied for jobs as a wildlife officer. But within a short time, I was offered a job as a seasonal park officer, so I took it.”

Kiger aimed to get as much experience as he could in pursuit of a job that would make him excited to go into work each day. It seemed natural, he says, to turn his passion into his job, and he had long wanted to be a wildlife officer.

“A lot of people told me that it was too hard and that you had to know someone to become a wildlife officer. I was told that there was no chance,” says Kiger. “But one day, something clicked. I wanted to prove everyone wrong and achieve my dream. After two attempts, I was successful, and I finally became a wildlife officer. I’ve loved every day since.”

I took several wildlife classes and loved them. That’s when I knew what I was going to do with my life.

Aside from working outdoors every day, Kiger says he loves that no two days are the same and he never knows how the day will unfold.

“On any given day, I might check fishing licenses or hunting licenses, answer complaints about violations, teach someone how to shoot a shotgun or bow, talk to a school group or civic group, or even answer questions about nuisance animals or just wildlife in general,” he says. “Sometimes I’m even in multiple counties in one day. I might give a citation in one county, deal with an injured deer in another county and then do a school program in another county. Occasionally, I even go from law enforcement to educator to doing a wildlife survey all in one day.”

Kiger is also on the Wildlife Officer Training Team, where he ensures officers are trained on self-defense, firearms, use of force and more.

Kiger grew up in Galion. He moved to Westerville 12 years ago and loves the community, he says.

Kiger and his wife, Lyn, have two children, Allison and Ashley, who are active in 4-H, love horses and enjoy playing sports in Westerville.

Occasionally, I even go from law enforcement to educator to doing a wildlife survey all in one day.

As Kiger reflects on the last 16 years in his role as wildlife officer for Franklin County, he says there are countless perks of being in his dream job.

“One of the most rewarding parts of my job is passing on the heritage of hunting and fishing,” Kiger says. “I’ve been in my role long enough now that I’ve seen young kids in hunter education classes, or helped them shoot their first shotgun or bow, and now they’re all grown up and passing on to others what they’ve learned. Knowing that I’m part of something with so much history is really a wonderful thing.”

Ann Poirier is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.

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