Celebrating and honoring Idaho’s first state game warden, Charles Henry Arbuckle

As Idaho Fish and Game rounds out a year of celebrating its 125th anniversary, the Idaho Conservation Officers Association (ICOA) has taken steps to officially recognize and honor Idaho’s first state game warden by placing a memorial stone at his gravesite.

Back when Idaho was admitted to the union in 1890 by President Benjamin Harrison, very few laws were in place to protect Idaho’s vast fish and game resources. 

In 1899, when Idaho’s Fifth Legislative Session enacted new fish and game laws, they included a provision: 

“For the appointment of a State Fish and Game Warden … and … to provide for the protection of Fish and Game.”

On May 5, 1899, Governor Frank Steunenberg appointed 36-year-old Charles H. Arbuckle—a member of Idaho’s House of Representatives—to the Office of State Game Warden.  Arbuckle stated in the First Biennial Report of the State Fish and Game Warden: “Prior to the creation of this department, various laws for the protection of game and fish have been upon our statute books. They were framed with the best intent, but all have been practically inoperative because no person felt fully authorized to enforce them.”

During his two-year appointment, Arbuckle successfully started hiring deputy game wardens across the state to enforce the new laws. In January 1917, then State Game Warden Leroy C. Jones said of Arbuckle, “To the first Fish and Game warden of the state, the sportsmen are indebted. He placed the first check on the slaughter of birds and game animals and did the pioneer work in laying the foundation on which the Department could grow to its present proportions.”

Also, in his biennial report, Arbuckle made several recommendations he felt were needed, not only administratively but in the interest of Idaho’s fish, game, and for sportsmen.

Some of his recommendations included a license be required for men to hunt and fish—this became law in 1903—and preventing serious fish loss by blocking them from going into irrigation canals and ditches—in 1905, the construction and use of the “Buck Fishway” was endorsed by State Game Warden W. N. Stephens, as well as the use of revolving fish screens to exclude fish from canals and ditches.

Arbuckle also petitioned Idaho’s Congressional Representatives for the establishment of a government fish hatchery. Although it would take years before a federal fish hatchery was built in Idaho, in 1907 a legislative act authorized and directed the department to erect and maintain a state fish hatchery. Hay Spur, Idaho’s first fish hatchery, is still in operation today.

The general election in November 1900 brought change to Idaho, including a newly elected governor. Arbuckle knew this change would result in the appointment of a new State Game Warden. He resigned three months before his term expired, allowing his successor to assume office sooner than later.

Prior to being elected as an Idaho Representative, Arbuckle was a miner and businessman. After his term of State Game Warden, he would continue to work in the field of enforcement, including Chief of Detectives for Boise Police and as a U.S. Marshall. For a few months during the winter of 1912-1913, he served as Secretary to Senator Perky.

In 1938, with the passage of the Idaho Fish and Game Commission Act people’s initiative, Office of the State Game Warden was abolished, and the position of Fish and Game Director was created. In an interview with the Idaho Statesman in December 1938, Arbuckle expressed support for the new management structure of the Fish and Game Department. He passed away in Boise in 1945 at the age of 82.

Arbuckle pioneered a critical element of our codified mission as the first protector of wildlife. Idaho Conservation Officers remain committed to this today and will carry the torch into the future.

We’d like to wish a special thank you to members of the Idaho Conservation Officers Association (ICOA). Because of them, this memorial has been made possible. The ICOA was founded in 1980 and is comprised of nearly every conservation officer working in the State of Idaho. 

These men and women are responsible for the enforcement of Idaho state law with a focus on the protection and management of fish and wildlife within the state. The association provides a place for conservation officers to share experiences, a common love of wildlife, and connect with national organizations such as the North American Wildlife Officers Association and the National Fraternal Order of Police.